


Bye. Love You

by zarrytrash



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, FBI!5SOS, Smut, i have too many feelings, slight daddy kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-09-12 20:37:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 39,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9089812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarrytrash/pseuds/zarrytrash
Summary: There's a rule in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI: no getting romantically involved with other agents. And what does Luke do? He falls in love with his field partner, Erika. But, not only does he fall for a fellow agent, he falls for Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner's daughter.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is completely fiction, nothing is real. Enjoy yourselves and leave kudos please.

The driveway seemed longer than usual. Erika Hotchner ran up the path to the house and inside. "Mom, is it here?!" She called, kicking her Vans off at the door. 

"Is what here?" Haley asked from the kitchen, Jack perched on her hip.

"My letter from the BAU. Did I get in?" Erika walked to the kitchen, checking the mail on the counter.

"Your father said he was going to bring your letter home with him. He didn't see the point in mailing it." Haley smiled softly and handed Jack to Erika. "We're having lasagna for dinner, I hope you're okay with that."

"That's fine, Mom. Did Dad say what time he was coming home?" Erika asked, bouncing Jack on her hip.

"He's on his way." Haley pushed the pan into the oven and set the timer on the microwave. "You better not have your shoes in front of the door, or your father won't be happy."

"They're to the side, I think." Erika shrugged and walked to the dining room. She set Jack in his booster chair and buckled him in, so he wouldn't get out.

"If your father yells at you, don't look to me for help." Haley shook her head and stirred the potatoes on the stove.

"Dad always yells at me. Even when I'm not doing anything wrong, he yells at me." Erika rolled her eyes and walked back to the kitchen to help Haley. The front door burst open and Aaron let out a loud sigh.

"Erika Lynn Hotchner, why are you shoes in front of the fucking door again?" He sighed, kicking off his own shoes and placing them in the closet.

"They were off to the side, you just open the door too far." Erika rolled her eyes.

"Cut the shit, Erika. I can revoke your admission into the bureau." Aaron warned, walking to the kitchen.

"I got in?!" Erika looked up at her father, eyes widening.

"The team thought you'd make a nice addition to the team. Reid especially is looking forward to your joining us." Aaron smiled, pecking Haley's lips quickly.

"Oh, my God. I did it!" Erika squealed and hugged Aaron tightly. "I can't believe this!"

"Don't make us regret this, Erika. You have to work well in the bureau, or you'll be out. That goes for all the new agents." Aaron smiled softly and walked out to the dining room to Jack. 

"Who else got in? What are their names?" Erika asked, following him out.

"There's you and two other girls, as well as four boys. It's you, a Wendy Dryad, Rachel Ferrel, Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, and Luke Hemmings."

~~~

He pulled the mail from his box and walked up the stairs to his apartment. He flipped through the envelopes, only looking for one. He closed his door behind him and set the unimportant mail on the table beside the door. He looked at the envelope he was waiting for. He ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter.

_Dear Luke Hemmings,_

_It is with great pleasure that we write to you to inform you of your acceptance into the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Your orientation will begin on July 31, 2017. Your interest in social justice and the bureau have not gone unnoticed. We look forward to working with you on your journey through the ranks._

_With highest regards,_

_Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner_

Luke was beyond ecstatic. He had been wanting to be an FBI agent since he was 5 years old. He worked his whole life for this moment, and now, he finally had it.


	2. 1

Early in the morning, Erika awoke to the sound of Aaron tapping his knuckles against her door. "It's your first day, time to wake up."

"It's 4 o'clock in the fucking morning. You never leave this early." Erika groaned, pulling the blankets over her head.

"It's a different day, now stop using that language and get up." Aaron demanded, opening her door.

"I'm 22 years old, I'll say what I want." Erika threw her pillow at Aaron as he stood in the doorway. 

"Erika, get up. I'm not playing this game today." Aaron sighed and threw her pillow back at her. "We need to get to Quantico by 6:30."

"Ridiculous." Erika huffed and tossed her blankets to the side, rolling out of bed. "I didn't even get up this early for school."

"And, you were late to school almost everyday." Aaron chuckled softly. "Get up and get ready." Erika huffed and stumbled over to her closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She walked to her bathroom and quickly put on her makeup. "Erika, let's get going!" Aaron yelled from the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" Erika called back, slipping her phone in her pocket. She jogged down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Make yourself a bagel, eat it in the car." Aaron instructed, taking a bite of his bagel.

"I can't. We're out of cream cheese. You know I can't have a bagel without cream cheese." Erika sighed, looking through the cupboards to find something to eat.

"Put butter and honey on it. We have to go." Aaron grabbed the keys to his SUV.

"Can't we stop at McDonald's on the way?" She pleaded, looking up at Aaron as she slipped her Vans on.

"Fine, but let's go." Aaron shook his head and walked out to the car, getting in. Erika giggled and followed him out to the car. She slid into the passenger seat and pulled her seatbelt on. Aaron pulled out of the driveway and began driving down the road toward the nearest McDonald's. He pulled through the drive-thru. "What are you getting?"

"I want a 20 piece chicken nugget bucket. And a medium fry." Erika said, pulling her credit card out of her phone case and handing it to Aaron.

"Put that back, I'll pay for everything." Aaron said, pulling up to the pay window. 

"Thanks, Dad." Erika smiled softly, putting her card back behind her phone.

"We haven't had the best relationship lately, but I'm hoping we can fix that." Aaron said as he handed the bags of food to her. 

"Dad, it's just your job that got in the way. It makes you hard and you never smile and you yell at me for the littlest things." Erika sighed and took a bite of her french fry. 

"I'm sorry, I haven't ever been a very great father.." Aaron sighed as he drove to headquarters. Erika got out of the car with what was left of her chicken nuggets. She followed Aaron inside and to the front desk. "I need the badges for all the new agents." The woman at the desk nodded and handed Aaron a stack of badges. He handed Erika her badge and she clipped it onto her sweatshirt.

"Can I see what the others look like?" Erika asked, taking a bite of her last chicken nugget.

"I cannot believe you ate all of those." Aaron shook his head and handed her the stack of badges.

"I was hungry." Erika shrugged and shoved the last piece into her mouth. She wiped the grease off her fingers on her jeans and looked at all the badges. "Ooh, this guy's cute." She smiled, showing Aaron the badge for Ashton Irwin. "He looks like Evan Peters."

"Erika, don't do this. You know the rules. No agents can get involved with one another." Aaron reminded her, holding the door to the BAU open.

"I know, Dad. I'm just saying, he's cute." Erika smiled. "All the boys are cute. I bet Garcia and this Michael Clifford guy would be good friends. He's into crazy hair, too."

"It must be a techie thing." Aaron chuckled and took the badges back. 

"Hey, it's baby Hotchner!" Reid grinned, jogging over to Erika. He wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. "It's so good to see you."

"You too, Reid." She smiled and followed Reid up to the conference room. She took a seat at the table. "The other agents should be here soon, right?"

"Yeah, they're supposed to be here by 6:30." Reid answered, taking a seat. "It's only 6 now."

"Is baby Hotchner really here, or am I dreaming." Derek Morgan grinned as he walked in with Emily and JJ following.

"Not dreaming." Erika smiled up at them. They took their seats and turned towards the door as 5 more agents filed in.

"Ah, you must be the new agents." Morgan greeted. 

"Sit down and we'll get started. The last newbie should be here in a few minutes." Aaron nodded and took a seat at the head of the table. Rossi and Garcia made their way into the conference room, the last agent trailing behind them. "Great, everyone's here. Please take a seat." Once everyone was seated, Aaron handed out the badges. 

"If I dyed my hair would I have to get a new badge?" Michael Clifford asked, clipping the badge to his shirt.

"No, they just make you sign some papers." Garcia answered for him.

"Yes, there's your answer. Now, we're going to go around the table and you're going to introduce yourself to the group. Please say your name, first and last, as well as why you wanted to join the BAU." Aaron instructed. "You know all of the team from your interviews, so it'll just be you new agents doing the talking. Erika, you can start." Aaron nodded to her.

"Of course you make me start." Erika rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm Erika Hotchner. I wanted to join the BAU to spend more time with my father and because I love getting inside people's heads." Erika turned and looked to the boy next to her.

"Uh, I'm Calum Hood. I want to be in the BAU because I believe that this is the best way to catch criminals." 

"I'm Wendy Dryad, I'd like to be in the BAU because my brother was a serial arsonist and I want to know why he did it and how to stop others doing the same thing."

"Oh, I'm Michael Clifford. I want to be in the BAU because you guys have the hardest system to hack into. Believe me, I've tried." 

"I'm Rachel Ferell. I thought being in the BAU would prove to my mother that I'm capable of making something of myself."

"I'm Luke Hemmings, and I want to be in the BAU because I was raised on crime shows and I want to do what they do."

"I'm Ashton Irwin. I wanted to be in the BAU because I'm interested in what makes people act a certain way and I want to bring people to justice."

"Great, it's wonderful to have you all here with us. We look forward to working with all of you." Aaron nodded at everyone.

"I have a question." Michael said, looking at Aaron. "Do you ever smile?"

"No, he doesn't." Erika said, grabbing Morgan's cup of coffee and taking a sip.

"Is he really your dad?" Wendy whispered and Erika nodded. 

"Yes, I'm her father. Now, you're going to each be paired up with a Senior Supervisory Agent. Erika, you'll be with JJ. Calum, with Morgan. Wendy, with Emily. Michael, with Penelope. Rachel, with Dave. Luke with Reid. Ashton, you'll be with me." Aaron read off his sheet. "There's some paperwork we need to fill out for taxes and all that bullshit, so we'll get that done now."

"That's a dollar, Dad." Erika crossed her arms.

"Dollar?" Calum asked, looking at the duo.

"My 4 year old brother, Jack, decided that every time someone swears in our family we have to pay a dollar." Erika explained. 

"Yeah, and this one here," Aaron gestured to Erika, "has wracked up the highest bill in the house."

"Oh yeah, how much does she owe?" Luke chuckled, glancing at the beautiful girl across the table.

"$432." Erika mumbled, finished Morgan's coffee.

"She's got a mouth like a sailor. She was really good at hiding it, but then on her 18th birthday someone convinced her that she could say whatever she wanted." Aaron laughed softly.

"Well, I wonder who that would be." Morgan laughed, patting Erika on the shoulder. 

"Yeah, why don't you pay my $432 bill? You got me into this mess." Erika rolled her eyes playfully and threw the plastic cup away.

"Anyways, I want you all to go with your agent to their cubicles and get to know them a little more." Aaron instructed. "It's important to have a strong relationship in the field." Everyone nodded and stood up, finding their specific agents and following them down to their offices or cubicle. Erika walked with JJ to her office and seat across from her. Luke followed Reid to his cubicle and leaned against the desk.

"So, your family is from Vegas?" Luke asked, looking at Reid.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Reid smiled and sat in his chair.

"You've got one of those "I Heart Las Vegas" mugs. I just guessed you were from there." Luke shrugged. "Uh, what can you tell me about Hotchner's daughter?" Luke whispered.

"What do you mean?" Reid furrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh, I don't know.. I just think she's cute, that's all." Luke blushed softly.

"You know, there's a rule in the BAU. You can't have romantic relations with any other agent." Reid explained.

"Yeah, I know. I just want to know what she's like." Luke glanced toward JJ's office where Erika was sitting. 

"She's just a happier version of Hotch. But, Hotch would kill you if he found out about this." Reid raised an eyebrow.

"Someone's got a crush." Wendy teased, giggling alongside Emily. Luke blushed deeper, covering his face.

When 5 o'clock rolled around, it was time for everyone to leave. Erika knocked on the door to Aaron's office before entering. "Hey, Dad, are you ready to go home?"

"No, Erika, I've got too many reports I need to file before I can leave. Tell Mom not to wait up for me tonight, I'll be back late." Aaron sighed and continued writing up his report.

"Okay, Dad. Bye. Love you." 


	3. 2

Erika was out to dinner with Aaron, Haley, and Jack, when she and Aaron got the text.

_We've got a doozie. BAU in 20. -PG_

"Erika and I have to go. We have a case." Aaron stood up and pushed his chair in.

"Of course you do." Haley sighed. "Be safe, my loves." Aaron planted a soft kiss on her lips and Jack's head. 

"We'll be home soon." Aaron nodded and walked out of the restaurant with Erika. 

"Cases really do come at the most inconvenient of times." Erika sighed and slid into the passenger seat of the car. They walked into the conference room together, everyone else already there. "Nice pajamas, Michael." Erika chirped, eyeing Michael's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pajamas.

"I was asleep when I got the text, I didn't have time to change." Michael huffed.

"The case, please." Aaron said as he sat down.

"Alright, I'm going to let Michael present this one. He's the one who found it." Garcia nodded and handed the remote to Michael.

"Right, so 5 women have gone missing in LA in the last two years." Michael started. "Each have been found approximately one week after their disappearance, all in the same LA park." Michael displayed the pictures of each victim and their crime scenes. 

"He's posing them. They look like they're giving birth." JJ commented, looking at the images. 

"Could be the signature." Calum said, looking at his tablet. "He's got a pretty obvious victimology. All of the women are roughly the same height, same hair color, same facial structure." 

"They have to be a surrogate for someone." Reid added, flipping through the files. "Were the victims sexually assaulted?"

"Yes, each victim was raped before they were killed." Michael answered.

"This UnSub abducts women every 5 months or so. Which means, he's probably already got his next victim. Wheels up in 30." Aaron said, standing up.

When the team landed in LA, the sun was about to set. "Reid, JJ, take the dump site. Take Erika and Luke with you. Morgan and Prentiss, talk to the M.E. and see what you can find. Dave and I will head to LAPD and see what they have for us." Aaron instructed. Erika followed Reid and JJ to the SUV with Luke trailing behind. She slid into the back with Luke. JJ drove to the park and got out of the car. 

"It's a public area, which means he probably dumps them at night." Erika mentioned, looking around. "They were all found under the oak tree?"

"Yeah, the large one there." Reid said, walking over to the tree. 

"There has to be some significance to this park and to this tree." Luke added, looking at the surrounding area. 

"Look at this." JJ said, looking at the tree. "There's a heart with two people's initials." 

"Do you think it's the UnSubs?" Erika asked, taking a picture of the engraving. "LR + JC." 

"Maybe the victims are a surrogate for someone the UnSub was in love with." Reid suggested. "I'll have Garcia find a list of LA residents with the initials LR and JC." He said, dialing Garcia's number.

"Go for greatness." Garcia chirped. 

"Garcia, I need a list of people that live in LA with the initials LR and JC." Reid explained. 

"That's gonna be a lot of names." Garcia sighed. "Anyway to narrow it down?"

"Check to see if any of them were married or in a relationship." Erika added.

"That's better, baby Hotchner." Garcia smiled and began typing again. "There's a Logan Riley and Jessica Carl, they were married in 2004." 

"Any criminal behavior from either of them?" Reid asked.

"Mm, nope. Both have spotless records." Garcia added.

"Great, thanks, Garcia." Reid said as he hung up. 

"This has to be connected to the UnSub somehow." JJ sighed. "Let's get to LAPD and see if Hotch and Rossi have found anything." She added, walking back to the SUV. The four of them headed to LAPD and walked inside. 

"Find anything?" Aaron asked, looking at the group.

"There was a heart with some initials carved into the tree the victims were found under." Erika said, showing him the picture. "Garcia checked LA residents with those initials, but no connection."

"I'll call Morgan and see if there's anything from the M.E. that can help us." Aaron said and walked away, dialing Morgan's number. "Morgan, anything from the M.E.?" He asked when Morgan answered.

"Hotch, they were all pregnant when they were murdered." Morgan said, furrowing his eyebrows. "It wasn't in the report."

"That explains why he positions them in the birthing position." Aaron sighed. "Reid and JJ found something at the crime scene. The oak tree has LR + JC carved in a heart."

"Did you have Garcia find those names?"

"Yeah, I'll have her crosscheck with anyone who died while pregnant." Aaron said as he hung up. He dialed Penelope's number.

"Garcia went on a food run, what can I do for you?" Michael asked.

"Crosscheck the names Garcia found earlier of LA residents with the initials from the tree against a list of women who died while pregnant in the last 5 years." Aaron instructed.

"You got it, Mr. Bossman." Michael grinned, crossing the lists. "There was a Jacklyn Morrison, previously Jacklyn Cordova, who committed suicide while she was pregnant. She was 5 months pregnant when she slit her own throat."

"Was she married?" Aaron asked. 

"Yes, to a David Morrison." Michael answered. "But, he's not our guys, because he committed suicide three days after his wife. Also slitting his own throat."

"Thanks, Clifford." Aaron said before hanging up. He walked back over to the group. "Morgan reported that each victim was pregnant when they were murdered. 5 months pregnant. I had Michael crosscheck the names we found earlier with women who died while pregnant and he found a Jacklyn Morrison who killed herself when she was 5 months pregnant."

"Morrison?" Rossi asked.

"Her maiden name was Cordova." Aaron answered. 

"This explains the timeline, but who's the UnSub?" JJ asked, looking at the file.

"Her husband also killed himself shortly after she did. His name was David Morrison." Aaron said. 

"It could be an ex?" Erika suggested. "Or, she could have been having an affair."

"I'll have Michael and Garcia check into the lives of Jacklyn and David." Aaron said, dialing the number once more.

"She's still gone, what can I find out for you?" Michael asked. 

"Is there anyone in Jacklyn's past with the initials LR?" Aaron asked.

"Mm.." Michael hummed, looking into her past. "She had a high school boyfriend named Logan Ryan. They broke up after they graduated."

"Did they reconnect at any time during her marriage to David?" Rossi asked.

"Uh," Michael continued typing. "There were some calls and texts between the two about a year after she was married."

"Can you recover any texts? Maybe something about them meeting up somewhere?" Luke asked.

"Yes, 6 months before she killed herself. They agreed to meet up at a motel." Michael answered.

"He's our guy. Clifford, you got an address?" Aaron asked.

"This guy fell off the grid after Jacklyn's death. He has no paper trail." Michael sighed. Garcia came back into the room with a couple bags of McDonald's.

"What's the skinny?" She asked, taking a seat next to Michael.

"We looked at the list of residents and cross checked that with women who died while pregnant, because get this, all of the victims were pregnant when they were murdered." Michael informed her. "We found one lady, Jacklyn Morrison, who committed suicide when she was 5 months pregnant. Her maiden name was Cordova, and she had an affair with her ex-boyfriend, Logan Ryan, 6 months before she killed herself."

"Well, does the ex have an address?" Garcia asked, pulling her sandwich out of the bag and handing the burger to Michael.

"Nope, he's off the grid." Michael sighed, accepting the burger. 

"Where was his last known location?" Reid asked, walking over to the map on the evidence board. 

"It was, uh.." Michael looked through the information he had on Logan Ryan. "It was Hollywood Boulevard."

"That's right in the middle of the hunting zone." Reid inquired. 

"The last victim was found three days ago, which means the UnSub probably has his next target." Rachel sighed. "Are we going to have to wait 5 months to find him again?" She asked, looking at Aaron. Everyone looked up when Morgan and Prentiss walked in with Calum and Wendy.

"That may not be necessary. There's another body." Calum sighed. "She was found under the oak tree, but she wasn't posed."

"Was it the woman who went missing?" Ashton asked, checking the report. Calum nodded and Ashton showed the report to Aaron. "Christy Bromwell. She had her uterus removed from uterine cancer."

"That's probably why she was dumped. The M.O. is different." Calum explained. "All the other victims had their throats slashed, but this one was shot."

"We're ready to give the profile." Aaron said, waving over the chief of LAPD. The chief gathered his men and the team stood in front of the group. "The UnSub we're looking for is Logan Ryan. It's not often we know who the UnSub is so early on, but this type of UnSub is very hard to catch."

"This UnSub is a classic narcissist. He is a psychopath living in a delusion. He abducts women who look like his high school girlfriend. He rapes these victims and impregnates them. He kills them after 5 months, because that's how far along his lover was when she killed herself." Morgan added.

"This UnSub has been off the grid since Jacklyn Morrison killed herself and their unborn child. He's meticulous, he won't get caught until he wants to be caught." Erika mentioned. "Our best hope is to release a statement to the press saying we found the guy and have him in custody. The UnSub's narcissism will take over and he'll get angry that someone is getting credit for what he's done. He'll make a mistake and it'll be easier for us to catch him. Thank you." The officers nodded and filtered off back to their respective positions. 

"JJ, set up the press conference. We'll see how he reacts." Aaron said, closing the files. 

When the press were finally settled out in the front of the police station. "At 3:45 this afternoon, the LAPD made an arrest in the case of the park murders. We will take your questions now." JJ spoke clearly, watching the crowd.

"Are you sure you have the right guy?"

"How did you know where to find him?

"Does your guy match your profile?" Reporters spat out questions faster than JJ could hear them.

"We are fairly certain we have the right guy. He's a narcissist, he only cares about himself. It was easy to find him, because he didn't think we could." JJ answered, clearly trying to get a reaction from the true UnSub.

"JJ," Aaron said from the door, waving her inside.

"That's all. Thank you." JJ smiled professionally and walked back inside with Aaron.

"We got a phone call. He identified himself as the real man we were looking for." Aaron whispered lowly.

"Was Garcia able to trace the call?" JJ asked, looking at Aaron. 

"Dave's still on the phone with him, we're trying to get a trace." Aaron explained, walking over to the team. 

"I've got a location, I sent coordinates to your phones." Penelope said, everyone's phones pinging with the notification. The team rushed out to their respective SUVs and slid in. They reached the location and followed each other out of the vehicles. 

"Logan Ryan, put your hands in the air!" Morgan yelled, aiming his gun at Ryan. "We have you surrounded." Aaron walked over to Ryan and pulled his arms behind his back, latching the handcuffs around his wrists. 

"Logan Ryan, you're under arrest for the rape and murder of 6 women. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will appointed for you." Aaron spoke as he pushed Ryan into the vehicle.

The team boarded the plane, each taking a seat wherever they could find one. Erika sat next to the window and pulled her knees up to her chest, plugging her earbuds into her phone. She placed the earbuds in her ears and played her music. Luke took a seat next to her and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Blink-182?" He smiled, looking at her. 

"They're relaxing to me." She shrugged, smiling shyly. 

"My parents raised me on Blink." Luke grinned and Erika pulled one of the earbuds out of her ear, holding it out to Luke. He smiled softly and took it, placing it in his ear. 

"My dad thinks I'm weird for liking Blink." Erika smiled, putting the arm rest up between them. 

"That's because a typical girl your age is into boybands. And, if I'm not mistaken, you used to really enjoy Big Time Rush." Aaron chuckled, looking at Erika and Luke.

"Oh, my God, Dad." Erika looked at him in shock. "That was like 10 years ago, and I only thought they were cute." She huffed and covered her face with her hands. "I have a thing for musicians." 

"Well, when our friend Garcia was running background checks on our new agents, she found that our boys all have musical talents." Morgan smirked, looking at Luke, Ashton, and Calum.

"That was years ago, I haven't touched a drumset since I was, like, 17." Ashton chuckled. "It was a fun time, though."

"What did you guys play?" Wendy asked, looking from Luke to Calum.

"I can play the guitar. Not very well, but, uh, I can play." Luke shrugged.

"I played bass in high school, but I didn't get much playing time in college." Calum said, sipping his water. 

"Sounds like we need to get a BAU band together." Rossi joked, chuckling softly.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen. I don't play in front of people." Luke shook his head slightly.

"A little birdie named Penelope Garcia did show us a couple videos on old YouTube of a young Luke Hemmings in his parents' house." Morgan's smirk reappeared on his face.

"Oh, God, those were horrendous." Luke whined softly.

"Well, little Erika used to post those makeup tutorials on YouTube before she knew the difference between foundation and concealer." Emily laughed softly when a blush rose to Erika's cheeks.

"Why do you know my secrets?" Erika laughed, covering her face again. 

"Well, at least your makeup looks nice now. What do you use?" Rachel asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh, I use all e.l.f. products because they're cheap and work really well. I don't use as much makeup as I did in college, though. Now, I just use foundation and mascara so I don't look like a gremlin." She explained. "Every once in a while I'll go out with Garcia and we'll go crazy with the makeup. You should join us next time."

"Oh, I will. It sounds like a great time." Rachel smiled. 

"Does the BAU have a lot of nights out?" Calum asked. "My college professor used to tell stories about nights out with the BAU."

"Who was your professor?" Reid asked, finally speaking up.

"Alex Blake. I had her for linguistics." Calum answered.

"The BAU doesn't get out nearly enough, but when we do, we have a great time." Emily smiled, nudging JJ.

"Oh, yes. Things can get a little crazy when we're out together." JJ laughed, resting her forehead on Emily's shoulder. The jet landed and everyone filed off. 

"Hey, Erika, I have to write up the report of the case. I'll be home later." Aaron explained. "Hemmings, would you mind giving Erika a ride home?"

"Not at all, sir." Luke grinned, turning to Erika. She smiled and started walking with Luke.

"Okay, Dad. Bye. Love you."


	4. 3

The car ride back to the Hotchner house was silent. Erika could hardly keep her eyes open. "We're here." Luke said softly, rubbing Erika's hand gently. She hummed softly and rubbed her eyes. 

"Thank you for driving me home. My dad has to stay late a lot." Erika sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Oh, anytime." Luke smiled. "Uh, I was wondering.." he trailed off, looking down at his hands.

"Wondering what, Luke?" Erika asked, holding back a yawn.

"Do you want to get dinner? With me?" Luke asked, scratching the back of his neck slightly. A blush crept up onto his cheeks and he was thankful that it was nearly 2am, the darkness hiding his awkwardness. 

"Like a date?" Erika asked, looking up at Luke.

"Well, yeah." Luke chuckled shyly.

"I've never been on a date before. Where would we go?" Erika asked.

"What? You've never been on a date?" Luke widened his eyes and Erika shook her head. "I find that hard to believe. You're incredibly beautiful, you're smart, you're funny." Erika giggled softly and grabbed her bag.

"Alright, I'll go on a date with you. But, I've never been on a date because of my dad, so we have to keep it a secret until we go." Erika said softly.

"Friday?" Luke asked and she nodded. 

"Sure, we can do Friday. As long as we don't get a case, right?" Erika joked. Luke grinned and kissed her cheek gently.

"I'll pick you up at 7 on Friday, yeah?" Luke grinned. 

"Yes, that sounds perfect. I'll see you tomorrow at the office?" She asked and Luke nodded. She smiled and hopped out of the car, jogging up the path to her door.

 ***

Erika was internally freaking out. She hadn't been on a date since she was 17, and she hardly called that a date. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped her hair up in her towel. She screamed slightly when Aaron tapped his knuckles on the door. "Erika, what's going on with you? You're nervous about something."

"What? I'm not nervous. Why would I be nervous?" Erika rambled, drying herself off.

"First of all, you're up before 11 on a day off. Second, you took a 45 minute shower." Aaron stated.

"I needed to shave my legs." Erika shrugged and pulled her bra and matching thong on.

"Erika, what's going on?" Aaron demanded, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, Dad. I swear." Erika sighed. "Now, stop profiling me. I'm not nervous." She huffed and pulled her leggings on. "Jesus Christ, my ass looks huge in these." She mumbled, pulling her makeup bag out of the cabinet. "Dad, can you tell Mom I'm stealing her lipstick?"

"Who's the guy?" Aaron asked, leaning against the wall.

"Excuse me?" Erika asked, blending her foundation into her skin. 

"Who is the boy? The one you're going on a date with tonight?" 

"H-how did you know?" Erika asked softly, setting her blending brush down. 

"You're spending a long time getting ready. You're using your mother's makeup, which you only do when you want to look nice. You're worried about the way you look in your clothes, which only happens when you're interested in someone." Aaron explained, letting his arms fall to his sides. 

"He's no one, Dad." Erika sighed and grabbed all four of her mascaras from her bag. She lathered them on, one at a time, before checking her appearance in the mirror. She carefully pulled her shirt over her head, trying not to mess up her makeup. She let her hair out of the towel and shook it out. 

"I didn't tell you that you could go on a date." 

"Dad, you don't get to decide who I go on dates with and when." Erika rolled her eyes and began blow-drying her hair. She could hear the incoherent sounds of Aaron talking, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. She brushed out her dried hair and checked herself in the mirror one last time. She opened the door and screamed when Aaron popped up next to her. "Dad! Oh, my God!" She scoffed, clutching her hand over her heart.

"Who is he?" Aaron asked, following Erika down to the living room.

"Mom, tell Dad to leave me alone." Erika huffed, sitting on the floor next to Jack. 

"Erika's going on a date and she won't tell me who the boy is." Aaron explained, sitting on the couch next to Haley.

"Aaron, she's an adult. She can go on dates if she wants to." Haley smiled softly, watching Jack crawl into Erika's lap. 

"You'll see him when he gets here." Erika sighed and wrapped her arms around Jack's small body. 

"What time is he coming?" Aaron asked, looking at his watch.

"Uh, like 4?" Erika shrugged. "I dunno, he texted me this morning and said probably 4." 

"It's 3pm now." Aaron said. "I'm going to need to run a background check on him before I let you go out with him. Tell me his name, Erika."

"Dad, you're being ridiculous." Erika scoffed. She opened her mouth to continue, but she was cutoff by the doorbell.

"I'll get it." Aaron smirked, standing up. 

"No!" Erika screamed, scrambling to lift Jack off her lap. Aaron laughed running to the door. "Dad, please, don't!" Erika screamed, running after him. Aaron pulled open the door, the smile falling from his face. 

"You've got to be kidding." Aaron turned and looked at Erika. "This is your date?"

"Yes.." Erika sighed, looking from her father to Luke, an apologetic glint in her eye. 

"Uh, it's, uh, nice to see you, Mr. Hotchner." Luke forced a smile, but inside he was dying. He was terrified to face Aaron. He was hoping Erika could get out without having to confront Aaron. 

"You think I'm going to let you take my daughter on a date?" Aaron scoffed, crossing his arms. 

"Dad! Stop it, please." Erika sighed, slipping her Vans on. She stepped onto the doorstep and stood closer to Luke.

"Wait, I want to meet this boy. No one ever comes around here." Haley giggled, walking over to the door with Jack on her hip. 

"God, this is so embarrassing. I'm so sorry, Luke." Erika sighed, looking up at him. 

"It's alright," he smiled softly, wrapping his arm around her waist. 

"Remove your arm from my daughter, if you'd like to keep it." Aaron warned. 

"Honey, he's just being a gentleman." Haley smiled. "Hi, I'm Haley. Erika's mom."

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Hotchner." Luke smiled. "I'm Luke. Luke Hemmings."

"I Jack!" Jack giggled from his perch on Haley's hip.

"Hi, Jack. It's great to meet you, too." Luke grinned. Jack laughed and looked at Haley.

"Yeah, you like Erika's boyfriend. Don't you, Jack?" Haley giggled, pressing a soft kiss to his head.

"He's not my boyfriend, and we're leaving." Erika rolled her eyes and grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him down to his car.

"Have her home by 5pm!" Aaron called after them.

"See you tomorrow, Dad!" Erika called back, sliding into the passenger seat of Luke's car. "I'm so sorry about them, Luke. They're the worst."

"No, it's okay. I promise." Luke chuckled, lacing his fingers with hers. "It was nice to meet your mom."

"Oh, yeah, my mom's great." Erika smiled. Luke squeezed her hand gently and pulled out of the driveway.

"Jack was very nice, too. He's cute." 

"He's adorable at all times, except when he's shitting his pants and crying about it at 3am." Erika laughed, looking over at Luke.

"He's a toddler, it's what they do." Luke chuckled. "You know, I have a brother named Jack."

"You do?" 

"Yeah, he's 26. He's doing life in prison for murdering his girlfriend." Luke said, stopping at a stoplight.

"Luke, I'm so sorry." Erika rubbed her thumb along Luke's knuckles.

"It's fine, I haven't even talked to him since I was 6." Luke shrugged. 

"Still, that can't be easy to live with."

"It's not, but what can you do." Luke sighed, starting to accelerate again. Erika kissed his hand gently, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"So, where are we going?" Erika asked, turning to face Luke more.

"It's this place called Sickie's. It's, like, a sports bar and grill, I guess." Luke smiled. "I dunno, they have really good onion rings."

"Sounds good." Erika smiled. Luke pulled into the parking lot a couple minutes later. He pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. Erika took off her seatbelt and went to open her door.

"Hey, Erika, wait." Luke said, turning to look at Erika. She looked up at Luke and he pressed his lips to hers softly. Erika relaxed against him, moving her lips against his. Luke pulled away slowly, letting his hand trail down her arm. 

"What was that for?" She asked, looking up at him.

"To get the awkwardness out of the way." Luke grinned, getting out of the car. Erika giggled and got out of the car. 

"You sure know how to woo a woman." She slipped her hand into his and walked inside with him. 

***

Dinner wasn't as Luke or Erika were expecting. Everything had been going so perfectly, until Luke laughed so hard his soda spewed out his nose. "I can still feel it burning." Luke whined as they got back into his car. 

"That's what you get for laughing at me." Erika pouted and crossed her arms. 

"I wasn't laughing at you. I just thought it was funny that every time you lifted your fork, all the food fell back to your plate." Luke bit his lip to keep from laughing once more.

"You're a dick." Erika laughed, slapping his chest gently. "Anyways, what's our plan now?"

"Well, you did tell your dad you'd see him tomorrow, so do you want to come back to my place?" 

"That's a naughty suggestion, Mr. Hemmings." Erika giggled and pulled her seatbelt on. Luke laughed and started the car. 

"It doesn't have to be. I mean, if you want it to be, I can definitely make it be." Luke rambled. 

"Well, it depends on how your apartment looks. Now, let's go." Erika smiled and held Luke's hand over the console. Luke grinned and laced his fingers with her before pulling out of the parking lot. Erika leaned forward and turned the radio on. "Do you have an aux cord?" She asked, looking around Luke's messy car. 

"Bluetooth. It's under 'Luke's CarTunes'." 

"That's so creative, wow." Erika rolls her eyes playfully and connects her phone to the Bluetooth. She pulled up Spotify and turned on her All Time Low playlist.

"Hey, you like All Time Low?" Luke turned and looked at Erika.

"I fucking love them." Erika giggled, looking back at him. "Do you like them?"

"I've met them multiple times, actually." Luke grinned. "They're incredible people."

"You're fucking kidding, right? You haven't actually met them."

"No, I've definitely met them. I'll show you the pictures when we get back to my place." Luke smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Erika's hand. The rest of the ride was much more relaxed than the ride to the restaurant. Luke and Erika were both feeling an adrenaline buzz from the music and being near each other. Luke held her hand as he walked inside his building, the tiled floor glowing beneath them. 

"This is such a nice building." Erika smiled, looking around. "My dad's apartment is incredibly shitty."

"Your dad's apartment?"

"Oh, yeah.. uh, my parents are separated. Dad still comes around, so we can keep the family together, but they aren't together." Erika explained, sighing softly. 

"Thank you for telling me, Erika. It means a lot that you trust me." Luke looked down at her, smiling softly. A ghost of a smile played on Erika's lips as she looked down at her feet. Luke cupped her cheek gently, tilting her head up. "Just remember that I'm always here if you need me." 

"I know." She smiled softly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Luke. Luke smiled and pressed the button for the elevator. He stepped inside with Erika and pressed the button for his floor. "How do you afford this place?"

"I was a trust fund baby." Luke chuckled and walked out of the elevator with Erika, his arm slipping around her waist. "My dad still sends money every once in a while, but I saved most of what I had when I was younger. So, I have enough to pay my rent each month." 

"A man with a plan. It turns me on." Erika giggled, leaning into Luke. 

"If this gets you going, just wait until you see my budget." Luke joked, laughing softly. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment and lead Erika inside. 

"Wow, this place is gorgeous." She commented as she took a sweeping view around the room. 

"I'll give you a tour." Luke smiled and carefully slipped his Converse off by the door. Erika took her Vans off and followed Luke. "Here's the kitchen, I don't spend much time here." Luke explained and walked across the hall. "Here's the living room. It's a mess, I know. I spend most of my time here, actually." He held Erika's hand and lead her down the hallway. "There's two guest rooms on either side of this hall. Here's a bathroom." He rubbed her hand and lead her into his room. "Here's the most important part of the house, my bedroom. There's an en suite bathroom there, it has better water pressure than the other bathroom." 

"I'll keep that in mind." Erika giggled and let go of Luke's hand as she walked around. She looked at all the pictures set around the room. Most of them were photos of his parents or his childhood dog. Luke admired Erika as she studied the pictures. He took a seat on his bed and continued to watch her. Erika picked up a picture of Luke with his family, he was only 6 in the picture. 

"That's the only picture we have of all of us together." Luke smiled softly at Erika. She turned and looked at him. She walked to him and took a seat next to him.

"Tell me about them." 

"That's my parents, Andy and Liz. They live in Australia. That's where I was born, but I was raised here." Luke explained, looking down at the picture. "That's my oldest brother, Ben. He's in Australia, too, but I never really talk to him anymore. And, that's Jack."

"Why did he do it?" Erika asked softly.

"He's a narcissistic sociopath. His girlfriend got in the way of his dreams, so instead of doing the normal thing and breaking up with her, he used a meat tenderizer to bash in her skull." Luke explained, setting the picture on his bed face down.

"I'm sorry, Lu." Erika sighed, holding Luke's hand gently. He looked down at her, his eyes soft and clear. She looked up at him, trying to show her support. She leaned in slowly and gently pressed her lips to his. Luke brought his hand up to her cheek, kissing her with more urgency. Erika placed her hand on Luke's thigh to steady herself as she matched his need. She climbed over and situated herself so she was straddling him.

"Do you want this?" Luke asked, only briefly breaking the kiss.

"Yes, yes, I want it." Erika breathed deeply, kissing Luke once more. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, her chest flush against his. She ground her hips down against his, the room heating up. Luke squeezed her hips and lifted her up briefly before tossing her down on the bed. He pulled his shirt off quickly and brought his lips back to hers. Luke pulled Erika's shirt off and dropped it to the floor, his eyes never leaving her breasts.

"God, you're so incredibly beautiful." Luke bit his lip and kept his gaze on her breasts. Erika giggled and sat up a little, removing her bra quickly. Luke's jaw dropped slightly at the sight. His eyes trailed down to a small tattoo under her left breast. He brought his hand down and ran his thumb across the cursive words. "Someday soon, this lilac will bloom." Luke read, looking at Erika.

"I'm the lilac." She blushed softly and bit her lip. Luke shook his head, a grin spreading along his lips. He kissed her gently and let his hands drift down her stomach. Erika shivered and allowed her eyes to flutter closed. Luke pulled her leggings down, admiring the small tattoo on the side of her foot.

"How many of these do you have?" Luke asked, rubbing his thumb over the small feather.

"I've got seven tattoos." Erika smiled, looking up at Luke.

"Show me?" She nodded and knelt on Luke's bed in front of him.

"I have my lilac tattoo under my boob, the feather on my foot, I have a dragonfly on my wrist, an actual lilac behind my ear, I've got this smiley face on my middle finger's knuckle, the butterfly tattoo right above my ass, and the birds on my shoulder." Erika explained, showing Luke each and every tattoo.

"You have a tramp stamp?" Luke asked, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

"Yes, I do. Freshman year of college was wild." She giggled and brought her hands to the button of Luke's jeans.

"I'd love to hear about it sometime." Luke said, trying to keep his voice steady, the obvious tent in his jeans making things uncomfortable. Erika smirked softly and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down his legs. He stood up and kicked them off, leaning down and kissing Erika deeply. His tongue slipped against hers, a sign of his dominance. Erika hummed softly against him and pressed her palm against his hard on. He groaned into her mouth and squeezed her hip.

"You're so hard, Hemmings." She smirked, rubbing her palm against him. His hips bucked against her hand. She pulled his boxers down slowly and wrapped her hand around his length, tugging gently.

"God, fuck." Luke groaned, his head falling back. Erika laid on her stomach and took the tip of his cock in her mouth. Luke's hands immediately found her hair. "Your mouth is so warm, baby." Luke moaned, looking down as she sucked on his tip gently. She inhaled deeply before pushing her head all way down on his cock, his tip hitting the back of her throat. "Jesus Christ!" Luke groaned loudly, gripping her hair tightly. Erika pulled her mouth off and giggled quietly, a string of saliva keeping her connected to his cock. "Fucking hell, I could cum just from looking at you."

"Well, don't look at me, fuck me." Erika giggled, kneeling on the bed once more as she pulled her thong down. Luke gripped her ankles and pulled them out from under her, sending her falling back on the bed. She squealed and looked up at Luke. He spread her legs and settled himself between them, his lips finding hers again. He rubbed his slick tip along her slippery folds, moaning softly.

"You're so ready for my cock, aren't you, baby girl?" Luke smirked, rubbing his tip against her entrance.

"Yes, Luke. Fuck me, please. I need you." Erika whimpered softly, bucking her hips. Luke held her hip with one hand and guided himself into her with the other. He pushed in all the way until he had bottomed out. Erika's eyes rolled back at the feeling. "Fuck, that feels so good." She moaned, arching her back. Luke bit his lip and held her hips as he rocked into her, thrusting quickly. Erika moaned louder and brought her hands to his hair, tugging gently.

"You're so warm around me." Luke groaned and rutted his hips against hers roughly. He pulled out almost all the way before pounding back into her. She moaned loudly and wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing him deeper.

"Luke!" Erika moaned loudly, gripping his hair. Luke groaned and pounded his hips into hers, getting faster and harder with each thrust. His hands gripped her hips tighter, surely leaving bruises in the shape of his hands. She moaned louder and pulled his hair, earning a guttural moan from him.

"Shit, Erika. Your pussy feels so good around my cock." Luke groaned, angling his hips up. Erika let out a high pitched whimper as Luke hit her g-spot.

"Right there, baby. Fuck, that's it right there." She moaned loudly, bucking her hips up to meet his thrusts. The tip of his cock continued to nudge her g-spot and they both knew she wasn't going to last much longer. Luke brought his thumb to her clit and rubbed fast circles against the sensitive nub. Erika's back arched further as she screamed in pleasure. "Luke, fuck!" She gasped, feeling her orgasm quickly approaching. Luke groaned as her walls clenched around him.

"Shit, baby, cum for me. Let me feel you cum." Luke coaxed, rubbing her clit faster. Erika's legs shook as she released around him, her walls clenching down once more. She moaned loudly and Luke continued to thrust to work her through her orgasm. Her moans were more sporadic and high pitched as she became more sensitive. Luke pulled her hips up against his as he released into her, coating her walls with his load. "Oh, fuck." Luke moaned, pulling out of her slowly. She whimpered softly and bit her lip, feeling his load drip onto her thighs and down onto the bed.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that was the best sex I've ever had." Erika giggled breathlessly, running her hands through her tangled hair.

"It was incredible." Luke grinned as he disappeared into his bathroom. He returned with a wet rag, gently cleaning Erika's thighs.

"Do you always take care of the girls you fuck like this?"

"What do you mean 'girls I fuck'?" Luke furrowed his eyebrows. "You're the first girl I've had sex with since I was 18."

"You can't be serious." Erika's jaw dropped. "Someone as gorgeous as you has to have more people wanting them."

"Eh, girls don't really like me that much. They all think I'm too weird and lanky." Luke blushed softly.

"For the record, I think you're gorgeous and sexy and better than any guy I've ever wanted." Erika sat up and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck, kissing him gently.

"Mm, is it too soon to say 'I love you'?" Luke joked, pressing a kiss to Erika's nose. She giggled and scrunched up her face.

"I'd be a little worried if you said you loved me already. I'm not even your girlfriend yet."

"Well, I can fix that." Luke grinned, pecking her lips gently.

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"I am."

"Then yes, I'll be your girlfriend." Erika smiled, kissing Luke once more. She pulled away slowly as her phone started ringing from the floor. She picked it up carefully and answered the call. "Hello?"

"It's just me. Are you gonna be here or at your dad's tonight?" Haley asked through the phone.

"Oh, uh, I'm staying with Luke tonight." Erika bit her lip and twirled her hair between her thumb and index finger. 

"Just make sure you're being safe. Use protection and make sure you're both consenting. Sleep well and I'll see you in the morning. Love you." 

"Of course, Mom. Bye, love you."


	5. 4

Luke and Erika both agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone of their relationship until things had moved further. That was over a month ago. Luke walked into the bullpen of the BAU and handed Erika a cup of Starbucks. "They ran out of vanilla bean, so I got you pumpkin spice instead." Luke explained, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Wow, Hemmings, did you bring coffee for the rest of us?" Morgan joked, spinning around in his chair. 

"Uh, no. Just for Erika." Luke blushed softly and walked over to his desk next to Reid's. 

"Thanks, Luke." Erika smiled at Luke, a warmth spreading through his chest. 

"I'm feeling some romantic tension here." JJ smirked, looking between Luke and Erika.

"Don't be ridiculous, JJ." Erika sipped the coffee to give herself time to come up with a believable explanation. "We both know the rules about relationships, and besides, do you really think my dad would let me be in a relationship with Luke?"

"He wouldn't. Conference room in 5." Hotch addressed as he walked up the stairs to his office. 

"Does he always do that?" Wendy asked, shuddering slightly. "I hate when he just comes out of nowhere." 

"He does it at home, too. I can't count the times I've almost had a heart attack because he just pops up." Erika giggled and stood up, following the others to the conference room. Everyone took their seats as Aaron passed out piles of files to everyone. 

"Here comes the best part of being in the BAU: reports." Aaron said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "You'll each be responsible for 14 files. Feel free to trade with other agents, but you must do your share. We are a team here in every aspect." 

"Spence, I'll give you 50 bucks to do my reports." Luke smiled at Reid gently. "Just kidding." Luke's eyes widened when he noticed Aaron's death glare. 

"Dad, leave him alone." Erika rolled her eyes. "We've been agents here for 2 months and you're still treating us like we don't know the routines." 

"Do your reports, Erika." Aaron picked up his stack and walked out of the conference room. 

"I thought having his daughter around would make him less hard on us." Emily sighed, picking up her stack of files. 

"Well, he hasn't changed at all, so we better get these done." JJ picked hers up and walked out of the conference room. Everyone made their way to their cubicles and began working on their reports. Erika rested her chin in the palm of her hand and read through the first file. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, reading over the small words. She picked up her bag and began searching for her glasses. 

"Looking for these?" Luke asked, holding up her glasses in the case. 

"Yes, actually." Erika smiled softly and reached across the divider for them.

"You left them at my place a couple days ago." Luke said as he handed the case to her. 

"Did I leave my contacts there too, because I don't have those either." Erika took her glasses out of the case and slid them onto her face. 

"You dropped those in my car. They're still there."

"Can you two shut up and do your reports?" Ashton huffed, flipping through his top file. 

"Sorry, Ash." Erika giggled, opening her file again. She read through the file, taking notes of the important pieces. Once the first report was typed, she printed it out and stuck it in the file, setting it aside. She picked up her phone to check how long it had taken her to write it. "Jesus Christ, it took 3 hours to write one report. Luke, how many have you done?"

"Uh, I haven't finished my first one yet.." Luke whispered, looking down at his report. 

"Listen, they get easier. It took me about 4 hours to get through one when I first started here." Emily smiled at Erika. "You'll get used to doing them and you'll find what you need a lot quicker." 

"This is ridiculous. I'm gonna go have a word with my father about how fucking unfair this is." Erika stood up.

"Hey, sit your ass back down. Talking to Hotch isn't going to lighten your load just because you're mad at him." Morgan rolled his eyes. "Just sit down and work."

"It's going to take me at least 40 hours to get through all 14 files." Erika huffed and sat down. "When do we need to have these in by?"

"Hotch always gives them out at the beginning of the week and they're due at the end of the week." Reid explained. "We always have enough time to get them in." 

"We won't if you all keep talking." Wendy rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath. 

"She's right. You're distracting everyone. Just work on the reports and you'll get them done. Don't worry about it." JJ added, setting aside her third report. Erika sighed and began working on her second report. By the time 5pm rolled around, Erika had finished 3 of her reports. 

"Erika, Luke, let's get going." Hotch said as he walked down the stairs toward the bullpen.

"Excuse me, sir?" Luke asked, looking up from his report.

"My wife would like you to come over for dinner tonight, so let's get going." Hotch said, looking at his watch. "Dinner will be ready at 7, but Haley wants us there as soon as possible." 

"O-oh, okay." Luke stuttered, putting his leftover files in his bag. 

"Are the rest of us invited?" Ashton joked, earning a small glare from Hotch. "Just kidding.." 

"Sorry, mate. I'm just really popular at the Hotchner house." Luke grinned and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Calm down, you've been over twice." Erika laughed and tucked her files into her bag. 

"Uhm, tell that to Jack. He thinks I live there." Luke laughed. "I'll see the rest of you tomorrow." 

"Bring my mixtape back tomorrow." Calum called out as Luke and Erika followed Hotch out. 

"Dad, I'm gonna ride with Luke." Erika said, adjusting her bag. 

"No, you're not. He'll meet us at the house." Aaron shook his head and walked to his car.

"Why can't I ride with him? It's not that far." Erika groaned, following Aaron to the car. 

"Because, Erika, there are rules. Get in the car." Aaron rubbed his temples and got in the car. Erika turned and looked at Luke. 

"I guess I'll see you when we get there." 

"FaceTime me in the car." Luke suggested, putting his bag in the back. "And, Erika," Luke started, causing Erika to look at him once more. He tossed her the container with her contacts inside. She smiled and caught it, tucking it into her bag.

"Thanks, Lu." Erika giggled and got in the car. She pulled out her phone and plugged her earbuds into it. Luke got into his car and hooked his phone into the holder and called Erika on FaceTime. "You better drive extra careful, Mr. Hemmings." 

"Babe, we FaceTime on the drive home after work every day." Luke laughed and pulled out of the parking lot, following Aaron's car. 

"Doesn't make it any safer." Erika pouted into the camera. 

"Can you two go 5 minutes without talking to each other?" Aaron rolled his eyes and gripped the steering wheel.

"Dad, calm down." Erika sighed, rolling her neck back. 

"Just remember the rules, Erika." Aaron warned as he drove.

"Your dad likes to talk about the rules a lot." Luke sighed.

"I know, but we can just ignore him." Erika giggled.

"Erika, your dad could easily kill me. We can't ignore him." Luke laughed nervously. 

"Well, you sort of already said you love me, so we kinda have to." 

"Erika, hang up. Now." Aaron demanded.

"What? No." 

"Erika Lynn. Hang up." Aaron looked at her, his eyes hard. 

"Luke, I have to go." Erika rolled her eyes and ended the call.

"He told you he loved you?" Aaron raised an eyebrow and gripped the steering wheel tighter. 

"It's not a big deal, dad." Erika sighed, trying to end the discussion before it could really begin.

"When did he say it?" Aaron asked, looking at Erika sternly.

"After our first date when I slept over at his house." 

"You slept over at his house?! Your mother told me you went back to the house after." 

"Mom covered for me. She knew I was gonna stay with him." 

"I need the context. What was happening when he said it. Do not leave anything out."

"We had sex, he admitted that it was the first time since he was 18, I told him how much he meant to me and how I knew he was gorgeous and sexy and incredible, and he asked me if it was too early to say 'I love you.' That's it, dad." Erika said, feeling the tension rising in the car. 

"You had sex with him?!" Aaron shouted, slamming on the breaks. Erika screamed and placed her hand on the dashboard to keep herself from flying forward. 

"It doesn't matter, dad! We're both consenting adults!" Erika yelled, her eyes wide and her heart beating a million miles an hour. "Can we please just get to the house?" 

"We're not done with this conversation." Aaron took a deep breath and started driving again. The tension was still thick in the car when Aaron pulled into the driveway. Erika got out of the car quickly and ran down to the street where Luke had parked. 

"Bad news, my dad knows we fucked. Good news, he doesn't know we're official." Erika said hurriedly. 

"Is that why you hung up on me?"

"Yeah, 'cause I talked about how you said you loved me." Erika sighed. "It's my fault, and I'm sorry, but my mom will make dinner bearable." Erika rambled.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Luke cupped her cheek gently. "I knew what I was getting into when I asked you to be my girlfriend. I still want you. All of you." He pressed his lips to her forehead gently.

"I own a gun, Hemmings." Aaron called down to the two of them as he walked up the path to the house. Erika sighed and wrapped her arms around Luke's torso. "Erika, get inside." 

"I can't wait to move out." Erika sighed and held Luke's hand as they walked up the driveway. Erika walked into the house and kicked off her shoes, leaving them in the doorway. "Mom, please tell dad to get off my ass and allow me to have an adult relationship with another man." 

"Aaron, let Erika be an adult." Haley called from the kitchen. 

"I'm her father, I'll do what I want." Aaron walked to the living room and picked Jack up. "Isn't that right? Daddy can do whatever he wants."

"No." Jack said, shaking his head. "Need Luke." Jack squirmed against Aaron's torso until he set him down. Jack ran over to Luke and hugged his leg tightly.

"Hey, Jack. How's my favorite superhero doing today?" Luke grinned and picked Jack up. 

"Good." Jack giggled and rested his head on Luke's shoulder. Haley walked out of the kitchen and gave Erika a gentle hug. 

"Dad knows Luke and I had sex. He's a little worked up about it." Erika whispered, fiddling with her fingers. 

"I'll talk to him, honey. Don't worry." Haley smiled. "Jack, why don't you go show Luke your new toys?" Haley suggested and Jack grinned, pulling Luke up the stairs with him. 

"I'm just going to join them." Erika said, trying to get away from Aaron.

"Hold it, Erika." Aaron glared at her. 

"Aaron, back off. She's an adult. She's allowed to have relationships." Haley crossed her arms.

"Haley, there are rules at the BAU. I can't have them dating if they both work there. They're fucking field partners, for God's sake."

"Dad, you're the one who always tells me it's okay to break rules every once in while. You taught me to break the rules for the things I believe in, and I believe in me and Luke." 

"Erika, I can't have you breaking the rules of the workplace. Especially the rules that everyone has to follow. It's not up for debate." Aaron crossed his arms. 

"Emily and Morgan have hooked up before." Erika crossed her arms, mirroring Aaron. "Wendy has slept with Michael and Calum. Rachel and Ashton have been flirting and texting since we all met. I'm not the only one breaking the rule." 

"They aren't my children, but you are. I can keep you in line." 

"No, you can't. I'm an adult, and if I want to be in an exclusive relationship with someone I work with, I am going to do it. It isn't going to interfere with my job, or his. We've made it 2 months so far with no incidents." 

"That doesn't mean it won't happen, Erika. I can't risk you getting the BAU in trouble." 

"That's not going to happen, dad! You're making this a way bigger deal than it needs to be! I'm not ending things with Luke!"

"Great, end your discussion so we can have dinner." Haley said, patting Aaron's shoulder. She walked back to the kitchen and took the tuna casserole out of the oven. Luke came down the stairs with Jack and walked to the dining room. Erika came in and sat down at the table next to Jack. Luke sat on the other side of Jack's chair. Aaron sat at the head of the table and Haley at the other end. 

"So, Luke, how are you liking the BAU? Is everyone treating you nicely?" Haley asked, taking a bite of her casserole.

"Oh, yeah, it's been great. Uh, we haven't had as many cases as I was expecting, but I guess it just feels like that because it's only been 3 months." Luke smiled at Haley as he served Jack a small portion of tuna casserole. Erika handed Jack his fork before he could use his fingers. "I've gotten to know the other new agents pretty well. I hang out with Michael and Calum pretty much every weekend." 

"Oh, you do? What do you guys do together?" Aaron asked, his tone dripping with clear annoyance.

"Uh, we usually just play video games or play guitar." Luke said, his heart beating faster.

"Really? I thought you guys would talk about my daughter. You know, the way men talk." 

"Dad, cut it out." Erika stabbed at her casserole violently.

"Sir, I would never talk about Erika like that. I care about her a lot, more than I've ever cared about a woman." Luke said, looking at Aaron. "Mr. Hotchner, I love your daughter. She's made me happier in these two months than I've ever been in my life."

"You can't fall in love in two months. I spent enough time studying the human brain to know that it takes longer than a couple months to actually fall in love." Aaron set his fork down. "It takes approximately 18 months to fall in love. You can feel the same thing as love, but it isn't the actual thing. What you're feeling for my daughter is probably just lust." 

"Dad, stop it." Erika slammed her fork down on the table. 

"No, Erika, I won't. Did you know that men who say they love you before you've known them for 6 months typically end up becoming abusers?" Aaron looked at Luke. "Did you know that, Luke?"

"Aaron, this is enough. Leave them alone." Haley looked at Aaron sternly. 

"I'm moving out." Erika said, pushing her plate away.

"Like fuck, you are." Aaron laughed dryly. "Where are you gonna live, Erika?"

"Rachel's looking for a roommate, I'll move in with her." 

"I think that's a great idea." Haley smiled at Erika. "I think it's time you experienced adult life." 

"Thanks, mom. Nice to know I have one parent that supports me." Erika rolled her eyes. The rest of dinner passed by in a blurred silence. The tension was almost so thick you could see it. Erika followed Luke out to his car after dinner was over. "I'm so sorry about tonight, Luke." She sighed, looking up at him.

"It's okay, baby, I promise." Luke smiled softly. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers gently. "I better get going. Your dad has been watching us from the window since we walked out here." 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lu." Erika smiled sadly and let go of Luke's hand. Luke slid into his car. "I do love you, Erika." She smiled softly and looked down at her feet.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Luke." 

"Goodbye, Erika." Luke winked at her as he began driving down the street toward his building.

"Bye. Love you." 


	6. 5

It was a Wednesday. The agents were at their desks, continuing to work on the reports they had started on Monday. "How was dinner with the Hotchner family?" Calum asked, throwing a paper airplane at Luke.

"It was fucking terrifying. Aaron found out that Erika and I had sex and he flipped shit." Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I told her I loved her and Aaron freaked out. He started saying shit like I'm going to turn into an abuser." 

"Goddamn, that's some crazy shit. You ever think maybe having a relationship with Erika isn't a good idea?"

"Calum, I'm right here." Erika rolled her eyes and read through her file.

"Okay, then I'll include you in the conversation. Have either of you thought that a relationship isn't in your best interest?"

"No." Erika and Luke said at the same time, their voices interlacing. 

"It just doesn't seem like a good idea. She's the Unit Chief's daughter, Luke." Calum crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. 

"I know you think that, but I'm not you. And, I'm in love with her." 

"You gotta stop saying that, Luke." Erika shook her head. "If any of the other agents heard you say that, or if my dad heard you say that, you'd be fired for sure."

"Hemmings is in love with Baby Hotchner?" Morgan asked, spinning around in his chair.

"Everyone's going to know now." Erika groaned, laying her head down on her desk.

"Everyone already knew. We could all tell from the way he looked at you and how he asked me about you on your first day here." Reid mentioned, joining the conversation.

"Do you think the director knows?" Erika asked, turning to Reid. 

"She knows, and she doesn't care. As long as it doesn't affect your ability to do your job, it doesn't matter who you're in love with." Reid shrugged, setting his final report aside. 

"Someone explain that to my dad, please." Erika rolled her eyes. 

"Hotch's just looking out for you. You're his only daughter and he wants you to stay his little girl forever." Morgan explained. "He wants to see you as a little girl and he's not ready to see you as a young woman."

"Well, he needs to get used to it." Erika sat up and crossed her arms. 

"Everyone in the conference room. Now." Aaron called as he walked out of his office.

"Did we get a case?" Ashton asked as he stood up.

"We haven't had one in a while." Wendy added, following the others to the conference room. 

"What's going on? I didn't authorize a case." JJ said as she sat down at the round table. Aaron took a shaky breath and leaned against the table.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Erika asked, placing her hand over his. 

"The.. The Reaper is back." Aaron's voice cracked as he looked down at Erika.

"The Reaper?" Calum asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"The Reaper was a case we started working on a couple years ago. He murdered several people in Boston. He stabbed himself several times to throw us off. His name is George Foyet." Morgan explained. 

"Uh, a few months ago Foyet found my dad in his apartment and stabbed him repeatedly before dropping him off at the hospital." Erika sighed.

"He offered me a deal, and I refused." Aaron sighed and shook his head.

"So, how do you know he's back?" Ashton asked, looking over the file in front of him. 

"This was delivered to my office this morning." Aaron said, a picture showing up on the TV screen. 

"'I could have stopped with you, but I feel I may have more fun with your wife and children.'" Morgan read.

"H-He's.. I'm gonna be sick.." Erika started breathing faster. 

"Luke, take her to my office and have her call Haley." Aaron instructed. Luke nodded quickly and stood up, holding Erika's elbow to help her up. "I have agents out to bring Haley and Jack into witness protection." The blood had drained from Erika's face and she could feel her heart beating in her throat.

"Come on, let's go." Luke sighed and lead Erika out of the conference room. Erika let out a shaky breath as she leaned into Luke. "Hey, hey, stand up, baby. Take a deep breath." Luke held onto Erika to keep her from falling. 

"I-I can't.. I can't breathe." Erika ran her hands through her hair. Luke sighed and lifted her up, holding her against his torso. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to steady her breathing. Luke sighed and walked to Aaron's office, setting her down on his desk. 

"Baby, I need you to breathe, okay? Just breathe." Luke rubbed her thighs to calm her down. "I'm going to call your mother now." Luke picked up Aaron's office phone and dialed Haley's number. 

"Aaron?" Haley asked as she answered the phone.

"No, it's Luke. I'm here with Erika." Luke said, setting the phone on speaker. 

"Mom?" Erika asked, her voice shaking. 

"Honey, everything's gonna be okay. Your father knows how to catch these people, he's going to find this man." Haley said into the phone, almost as if she were saying it for herself. 

"If you're being put into witness protection, that means me and dad can't see you and Jack anymore.." Erika whispered, tears filling her eyes. 

"It's only until you find this man. Then everything will be fine, I promise." Haley sighed, trying to calm herself down as well as Erika.

"What if we can't find him? Mom, he's threatening to come after us." Erika sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. Luke held Erika's hand gently and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

"You and your team will find him. I have to go, sweetie. The agents are here to take me and Jack to the new home. I'll talk to you soon, I promise."

"I wish this wasn't happening.." Erika said, tears falling down her cheeks. 

"I know, me too. We'll see each other soon. I love you." Haley spoke softly.

"Bye. Love you." 


	7. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short, but it's just a filler so get ready for what follows

The hunt for George Foyet had begun. Every agent was on the edge. "We've got a delivery for an Erika Hotchner." Anderson said, bringing an envelope over to Erika's desk. 

"I didn't order anything." Erika furrowed her eyebrows and took the envelope. She ripped it open and pulled out its contents, laying them on the desk. She picked up the pictures and flipped through them. "What the hell?" She asked, looking at the photo of herself outside the grocery store. 

"What is it?" Luke asked, looking over the divider at her. 

"These are pictures of me.." Erika frowned and looked at each of the pictures. 

"Erika, the back of the photos." Luke leaned over and grabbed the pictures. He laid them out facedown.

"These lines have to make some kind of symbol." Reid stood up and walked into Luke's area and looked at the lines. He began moving the photos around to try and create a symbol out of them. "The Reaper." 

"Dad!" Erika screamed, standing up from her desk. Aaron ran out of his office and down to Erika. 

"What is it? What's going on?" Aaron asked, wrapping his arms around Erika's smaller body.

"These pictures were delivered to Erika. They're pictures of her doing domestic things, but on the back, they line up to create the symbol Foyet leaves at his crime scene." Reid explained. 

"Some of these pictures are months old. He's been watching her since she started here." Morgan added. "Hotch, he knows her routines." 

"Okay, Rossi take Rachel with you and go to my house. Erika will give you a list of things she needs." Aaron explained. 

"Dad, what?" Erika looked up at him confused. 

"You're going to be staying here until we catch Foyet. I can't let anything happen to you." Aaron looked down at Erika. "You're staying here so I know you're safe." 

"Dad, I can't stay here." Erika took a step back from Aaron. "I work here, I can't live here." 

"It's gonna be okay, Erika. You'll be safe. That's the important thing." Luke added, trying to reason with her.

"Make your list, Erika." Aaron said, handing her a pad of paper. Erika sat down at her desk and began making a list of clothing and electronics she may need. She handed the list to Rossi and sighed deeply.

"Alright, let's go, Rachel." Rossi tucked the paper into his pocket and walked out with Rachel. The two arrived back several hours later with a bag of things for Erika. 

"This is fucking ridiculous." Erika crossed her arms. 

"It's for your safety, Erika. Just give it some time." Luke sighed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. 

"Why can't I just stay with you?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Because, if Foyet is watching you, he'd find you at my place and that puts both of us in danger." Luke sighed, pressing a kiss to Erika's head. 

"I don't want to stay here alone.." Erika rested her head against his chest. 

"It's only for a little while, baby. You'll get used to it." Luke rubbed her arm gently and held her close. "I'll get you settled in, and I'll be back in the morning before you even wake up." Luke smiled softly. Erika nodded and followed Luke back to an empty office. "You'll be living in here for the time being. The couch pulls out into a bed and you can keep your stuff in the desk to keep it hidden away."

"Luke, I don't want to live here." Erika sighed, crossing her arms.

"I know, baby, but it's only for a short time. You're going to have to deal with it." Luke sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It's after 6, so I have to get going. I'll see you in the morning." Erika nodded slowly and sat on the couch. "I love you, see you tomorrow." 

"Bye. Love you." 


	8. 7

Erika hadn't really realized that 2 weeks had already passed of her living at the BAU. She had gotten used to it, just like everyone said she would. Luke walked into the small office with a bag of McDonald's and a bottle of white wine. "Hey, baby, happy Friday." Luke grinned, holding up the bag and the bottle.

"Jesus Christ, I love you." Erika giggled and stood up. "How did they let you in with alcohol?"

"I told them it was for the hostage in B241 and they let me right in." Luke laughed and sat on the pulled out bed with Erika. 

"Did you get me chicken nuggets or a McDouble?" Erika asked, taking the bottle from Luke. 

"I didn't know what you were in the mood for, so I got you both." Luke smiled and took them out of the bag, along with his Big Mac. 

"You're amazing, you know that?" Erika smiled and opened the wine. 

"I do my best." Luke grinned and grabbed two solo cups from the shelf in the room. Erika smiled and poured the wine into the cups. 

"Your best is better than anything I could ask for." Erika smiled and sipped her wine. Luke smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I've missed having you around at night. It's been a long two weeks." 

"Well, I talked to your dad, and he said I could stay with you for as long as you want me to." Luke smiled and leaned against the back of the couch. 

"You talked to my dad? Without me around?" Erika asked, her jaw dropping. 

"Yeah, I mean, I have to get over my fear of him someday." Luke shrugged, sipping his wine. "He looked ready to kill me, but it was worth it, because now I get to stay with you." 

"You really faced my dad alone just to stay with me?"

"Erika, I knew you didn't want to be here alone. You hate it here, I hear it every night over FaceTime. I asked your dad if I could stay with you for just the weekend, but he said I can stay for as long as you need me." Luke explained, taking a bite of his Big Mac. Erika wrapped her arms around Luke's neck and kissed him deeply. 

"I love you. So much." She mumbled in between kisses. Luke set his Big Mac back in the box and wrapped his arms around Erika's waist, pulling her closer. She knelt on the bed, placing one leg on either side of Luke's legs.

"Wait, Erika. Wait." Luke hummed, pulling away slowly. "We can't do this here."

"Of course we can. It's a Friday night, everyone's gone, it's just us." Erika reasoned, peppering light kisses down Luke's neck. Luke lulled his head back against the wall and squeezed her hips.

"Baby, they have cameras in every room." 

"Let them watch." Erika whispered, nipping at the skin of his neck. He moaned softly and pulled her hips down against his. 

"Fuck, okay." Luke breathed out. "But, let's do it fast. I don't want to give them too much of a show." Luke explained, pressing his lips to hers. She smiled against his lips and pulled her sweater over her head. Luke bit his lip and looked down at Erika's breasts. "I've never seen anyone so beautiful." Luke cupped her cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. 

"You're full of it." Erika giggled and pulled Luke's shirt off. She trailed her fingers down his chest, playing with his necklace. Luke carefully took it off and placed it around her neck, letting it fall in the valley of her breasts. "Luke.." Erika whispered, looking down at the small charm. 

"I want you to keep it. Let it remind you that I'll always be there with you." Luke smiled softly, rubbing her hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He pulled her body closer to his and pushed her leggings down, throwing them to the floor next to her sweater. He trailed his mouth down her neck and to her collarbones as he removed his jeans. 

"Hurry up." Erika moaned softly, pulling his boxers down just enough for his cock to spring up against his stomach. She wrapped her hand around the base and gave a gentle tug. 

"Fuck, I need to be inside you. It's been too long." Luke moaned, pulling her thong to the side. Erika lifted her hips and lined his tip with her entrance. Luke held her hips as she sank down on his cock. Erika moaned out as she lowered herself completely down. "God, fuck." Luke groaned, squeezing her hips.

"You fill me up so good, baby." Erika moaned as she started bouncing on his cock. Her moans were frequent and grew in pitch as she quickened her pace. 

"That's right, baby. Take my cock." Luke groaned, moving his hands back to her ass. She moaned louder and moved her hips in figure eights against his. He groaned loudly and pulled his hand back, sending a harsh slap to her ass. 

"Oh, God, Luke!" She screamed, bouncing faster. "Feels so fucking good." 

"Jesus, baby, you're so tight." Luke groaned and gripped her ass. He thrusted up roughly, meeting her bounces. He brought his hand around and pressed his thumb against her clit. He rubbed slow circles against it. 

"Fuck!" She moaned loudly, bouncing faster. "I need more, Luke. Please." Erika begged, bouncing fast and hard. Luke moaned louder and rubbed her clit in fast, tight circles. "Yes, yes, fuck!" Erika screamed in pleasure as she released around him. 

"That's it, baby girl. Yes, come for me." Luke groaned, rubbing her clit to ride her through her high. She whimpered softly at the stimulation and bounced slowly. Luke moaned out her name as he released inside her, coating her walls with his load. Erika let out a deep breath and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Feed me a nugget." Erika yawned, lifting herself off of Luke. Luke laughed and pulled a chicken nugget out of the box, holding it up to her mouth.

***

The two of them had fallen asleep very shortly after finishing their dinner. Aaron walked into the room the morning after and flipped on the lights, looking at the two of them cuddled together on the pullout couch. Erika rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. "Dad?"

"Yeah, it's just me, honey." Aaron spoke softly, not wanting to wake Luke. "It smells like sex in here." Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"Dad.." Erika sighed.

"There's clothes on the floor, and you're in your bra." 

"Dad, stop it." Erika sighed and snuggled closer to Luke. "We're adults in a relationship, it happens." 

"It shouldn't happen here." Aaron set a few board games and decks of cards on the table. 

"We know. What's with the games?"

"Figured I'd give you and Luke something to do for the weekend." He shrugged. "Garcia donated a waffle maker to the BAU so you could make breakfast, but I brought you some pancakes."

"Thanks, dad. It means a lot." Erika smiled softly. 

"Yeah, just give me a call if you need anything. I'll probably be in my office all day today." Aaron explained. Erika nodded and rested her head on Luke's chest. He subconsciously wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"You really like him, don't you?" Aaron sighed. 

"I do, dad. I love him. He's made me happier than anyone I've ever known. And, he takes care of me." Erika smiled softly and ran her fingers through Luke's hair.

"As long as he treats you well, he's welcome around anytime." Aaron nodded and walked out of the room. Erika turned to Luke and watched as he slept. Luke slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms back against the wall. 

"Morning, baby." Luke grinned sleepily, his eyes heavy. 

"My dad came by and dropped off some games for us." Erika smiled, rubbing his chest gently.

"Let's play Monopoly." Luke looked down at Erika. 

"Okay, but I have to warn you, I'm really competitive. I will win." Erika giggled and grabbed the box, setting up the board on the bed. 

"I want to be the shoe." Luke said, grabbing the token and placing it on GO. 

"No, I'm the shoe. Be something else. I'm always the shoe." Erika whined, looking at Luke.

"Well, I'm always the shoe. You be something else." 

"Luke, I'm the fucking shoe! Pick something else!" Erika grabbed her pillow and hit Luke with it. Luke tore the pillow from her hands and threw it aside, pinning her down on the bed. Erika's breathing grew faster. Luke leaned down and kissed her deeply. She hummed softly and pulled her legs up, allowing Luke to settle between them. 

"Okay, I'll pick something else." Erika whispered, biting his lower lip gently. Luke grinned and sat up.

"Perfect." He smirked and began counting out the money to start with. They determined that Erika could go first. Throughout the course of the game, Erika had been slipping herself extra hundreds and five hundreds, but Luke had been slipping himself extra properties. 

"Luke, how the fuck did you get Marvin Gardens?" Erika asked, throwing the rent at him. 

"I landed on it." Luke lied, adding the money to his pile. 

"You're a fucking cheater!" Erika screamed, her eyes wide in shock. 

"I'm the cheater? You're the one taking extra money!" Luke yelled back. 

"How could you be cheating, Luke?!" Erika reached for the pillow again, but was interrupted by by Aaron clearing his throat from the doorway. "Oh, hi, dad." Erika smiled shyly.

"Hello, sir." Luke smiled at him. 

"I heard yelling from my office." Aaron crossed his arms.

"Erika's a little cheater." Luke turned to Erika.

"I'm not the cheater, you are!" Erika looked at Aaron. "Dad, he's been stealing properties." 

"She's been stealing money from the bank." Luke turned to Aaron.

"If you had been awake when I came in, I would've warned you about her habits of cheating at board games." Aaron smiled softly. "It's especially bad when playing Life. She always makes sure she get's the $100,000 salary and the doctor career."

"Life isn't fun without a little drama." Erika giggled.

"Alright, well you have fun with your cheating. We have a lead on Foyet, Morgan and I are going to check it out." Aaron explained. 

"Be safe, dad." Erika said, her heart beating faster. 

"I will. Luke, take care of her." 

"Always, sir." 

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Aaron said, looking at both of them.

"Bye. Love you." 


	9. 8

Erika had been living in the BAU for a month, and Foyet was still at large. In the back of her mind, Erika knew he'd win. There's only so many serial killers one team can catch. The Reaper had been taunting the BAU. There were constant letters and gifts left for Erika, letting her know that he wouldn't stop. "There's another letter." Luke said as he walked into the office. "It has a different postmark." 

"Let's tell the team. Maybe Garcia can find where it came from." Erika got up and followed Luke out of the room. They walked down the hall to the bullpen. "Dad, there's another letter." 

"Get it to Garcia." Aaron instructed. "What did it say?"

"'Baby Hotchner won't get any sleep tonight knowing I'm getting closer.'" Erika read. 

"He's watching still. He knows she's here." Luke sighed. 

"JJ, did you get anywhere with the prescriptions?" Aaron asked.

"No, sir. There's so many he could be getting over the counter as substitutes." JJ explained. "Garcia, can you find any prescriptions that Foyet is on that cannot be substituted?"

"I'm on it. I'll let you know when I have something." Garcia nodded, jogging down the hall to her office. 

"Once we figure out which prescription to track, we'll have to find out an alias he's using. There's no way he'd use his own name." Aaron explained. 

"He could have easily stolen someone's identity. He had Morgan's credentials for so long." Emily suggested. 

"No, he's a narcissist. He's going to use some variation of his own name." Aaron shook his head. 

"I found something!" Garcia called as she jogged back to the conference room. "He's on a medication for hypothyroidism that cannot be substituted."

"We need to find his name. Is there a Foyet in the list of those on it?" Ashton asked, just to be sure.

"No. No Foyet." Garcia shook her head.

"It's gotta be an anagram of some sort." Reid furrowed his eyebrows and walked to the large board in the room. "George Foyet." Reid said aloud, tapping the marker against his chin.

"Foyet named himself The Reaper." Aaron added. Reid nodded and began writing on the board, bringing letters down and crossing out others. 

"Peter Rhea."

"There's a Peter Rhea in Arlington. Address sent to your handhelds." Michael spoke up.

"Let's go." Erika said, grabbing her bag.

"You're staying here." Aaron demanded.

"There's no way in hell I am staying here. This man has been tormenting us for months, I'm coming with." Erika debated.

"No, Erika. He's right. You have to stay here." Luke reasoned, holding her hands. "I'll be here with you, but I can't let you go out there." 

"Please, I can't sit here anymore. I need to do something." Erika sighed, sitting down. 

"We'll call you if we need you, okay? Just sit tight." Aaron instructed, following the others out.

"Luke, I can't just sit here. Foyet is out there and he could hurt my family." Erika looked up at Luke, tears filling her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Luke wrapped his arms around her securely. "I promise you, nothing will happen to your family." 

"Jack's only 4." Erika shut her eyes as sobs wracked her body. She held onto Luke and sobbed into his shoulder. Luke sighed and stroked her long blonde hair gently, comforting her. 

"It's gonna be okay. They'll all be okay." Luke whispered, holding her close. "I'll be here with you no matter what." 

"I-I can't lose them.. They're my family, Lu, I can't lose them." 

"You're not gonna lose them, Erika. I promise. They're going to be safe. Our team is the best one out there. They're gonna get Foyet, and you'll be reunited with your mom and Jack." Luke twisted the ends of her hair between his fingers. 

"I haven't seen Jack since you came over for dinner.." Erika sniffed, wiping her eyes. "It's been 2 months since I've seen him." 

"I know it's hard, baby, but it's for the best. They needed to be away so they'd be safe." Luke pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Erika picked up her phone when it rang, answering the call. 

"Dad?" Erika asked, wiping her eyes. 

"Erika, Sam's dead. Foyet knows where your mom and Jack are. I need you to be ready in case Foyet calls you." Aaron explained, fear evident in his tone. 

"Wh-what? Are they safe? Dad, are mom and Jack safe?" Erika stood up quickly. 

"I don't know, Erika. I need you to stay with Luke. Please, stay with Luke." Aaron begged. "Give the phone to Luke." Erika nodded and handed the phone to Luke.

"Sir?" Luke asked. 

"Hemmings, I need you to keep Erika there. Make sure she never leaves your sight." Aaron instructed. 

"Yes, sir." 

"And, Luke, please don't tell her Foyet is at our home." Aaron sighed. 

"Of course, sir." Luke nodded, sighing softly. He hung up and handed the phone back to Erika.

"I-I need to go the bathroom." Erika sighed, rubbing her eyes. 

"Okay, I'll come with you." 

"Luke, I just need a minute." Erika shook her head, walking to the bathroom. She walked into a stall and locked the door behind her. She stepped onto the toilet and opened the window, climbing out. Luke sat in the conference room and waited for her to return. When she had been gone for 7 minutes, that's when he started to worry. He knocked on the door to the women's bathroom.

"Erika?" He called, pressing his ear to the door for a response. It was silent. He pushed open the door and walked in. He looked up at the open window and smacked his hand against a stall door. "Damn it, Erika!" Luke growled and pulled out his phone, dialing Aaron's number.

"Yeah, Luke?"

"She's gone, Aaron. She said she was going to the bathroom, she climbed out the window." Luke explained. "I think she's going to the house." 

"I've got agents already on the way there." Aaron explained. "See if she took a car." Luke nodded and ran out to the front parking lot.

"She took an SUV." 

"I have to go. Follow her and find her." Aaron demanded, hanging up. Luke ran to his car and got in, speeding out of the parking lot. Erika made it to the house shortly after, the sirens on the SUV working in her favor. She parked on the street and ran up to the door of the house. She took a deep breath and walked inside. 

"Mom?" She called, looking around. 

"Erika, what are you doing here?" Haley asked from the living room. Erika walked down the hall a little ways and stood in the doorway of the living room. Foyet was kneeling on the floor across the coffee table from Jack. 

"I had to make sure you were safe." Erika sniffled, looking from Jack to Haley. 

"Isn't this a lovely little family reunion." Foyet smirked, standing up. "Haley, I'm going to give you this phone. I want you to call Aaron."

"B-But, you told me was dead." Haley stuttered, trying not to cry.

"Call him." Foyet demanded, handing her a phone. She nodded and dialed his number.

"Foyet." Aaron said into the phone.

"Aaron? He.. He told me you were dead." Haley sniffled.

"Is Erika there with you?" Aaron asked.

"Yes." 

"Tell her to take Jack upstairs. I need them both on the case." Aaron said, trying to be strong.

"Come on, Jack." Erika held her hand out to him. He ran to her and held her hand. Erika looked at Haley. "I love you, mom." 

"I love you so much, sweetheart." Haley sniffled. Erika smiled sadly and walked up the stairs with Jack. She lead him to Aaron's old home office.

"Stay here, okay, buddy?" Erika knelt down and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Otay, Riki." Jack smiled, too young to understand the situation. Erika sniffled and kissed his head. 

"I'll be back in a bit." Erika said before running out of the room. She jogged down to the living room and looked at Foyet as he held his gun to Haley's throat. "Please, don't do this.." She begged, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Honey, it's okay." Haley cried softly. Foyet's smirk grew along his face as he pulled the trigger, Haley's body falling lifeless against him.

"No!" Erika screamed, dropping to her knees. "No, mom." She cried, watching as Foyet dragged her up the stairs. Erika sobbed and stumbled after them, wishing there was something she could do now. She followed Foyet into the bedroom where he laid Haley. 

"Such a shame. She had her whole life ahead of her." Foyet chuckled darkly. He stood up straight and smirked, aiming his gun at Erika. She widened her eyes and bolted from the room. Foyet ran after her and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down to the ground. She screamed in pain as her head hit the railing of the stairs.

"Let go of me!" Erika screamed, blood dripping down the side of her face. Foyet pinned her hands at her sides and placed his knees on her hands, holding them down. "Please! Please, let me go!" Erika sobbed, struggling against him. He wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed. She gasped, unable to take a breath. She squirmed beneath him, feeling her limbs shut down. Her eyes fluttered closed as the world around her fell silent. 

Luke arrived at the Hotchner house shortly after Aaron had bashed Foyet's head into every surface available. He ran inside as Aaron was repeatedly punching Foyet's jaw. "Aaron!" Luke yelled, grabbing his arms and pulling him off. "Aaron, stop. He's dead." Luke held onto Aaron. 

"Th-they're dead. They're both dead." Aaron sobbed. He shook himself out of Luke's arms and ran up the stairs. Luke ran up the stairs after him and froze when he saw Erika's body laying there on the floor, blood drying on her head. He knelt by her body and felt her neck for a pulse. 

"Come on, baby. I know you're in there." Luke pleaded, straddling her body and placing his folded hands on her chest. "Come on, Erika. Wake up." Tears filled his eyes as he pressed down on her chest in quick successions. The tears spilled over when there was no change in her pulse. "Erika, baby, please. I need you to wake up. Aaron and Jack need you to wake up." Luke cried, pressing down harder. 

"Luke.. I need you to find Jack.." Aaron sniffed from the doorway of his and Haley's bedroom. 

"No, I'm not leaving her. Not until she wakes up." Luke argued, looking down at Erika's still body. "She has to wake up.."

"I can hear the sirens. The medics are almost here." Aaron rubbed his eyes. "Find Jack and get him to JJ." 

"You find Jack. He's your son. Erika is my girlfriend, and I'm not leaving her." Luke stated, clearly not leaving room for discussion. Luke shook his head and began compressing her chest again. The medics made their way into the house.

"Up here." Aaron called down to them. The medics came up with a defibrillator and set it up on the floor next to Erika. 

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside." The medic instructed, pushing Luke off of Erika. Luke stood up and looked over as Calum and Ashton came over to him. 

"Where's Haley?" Ashton asked, looking at Luke. 

"Sh-she's dead.." Luke looked back at Erika as the medics pressed the paddles to Erika's chest. "Th-they both may be. Haley for sure." Luke mumbled, watching the medics work. 

"Let's go, mate. You should get some air." Calum placed his hand on Luke's back and ushered him down the stairs. Luke walked outside and immediately vomited in the grass. He coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"Here, Luke." Rachel sighed, handing him a bottle of water. Luke rinsed his mouth and took a deep breath. 

"I-I couldn't save her.." Luke looked down at his feet. "I should've tried harder, I should've kept a closer eye on her." Luke rambled. 

"Luke, you did everything you could for her. This isn't your fault." Rachel wrapped an arm around his torso, hugging him gently. 

"I should've done more.." The tears started falling down his cheeks again. Erika gasped in a long breath as the medics pressed the paddles to her chest once more. She breathed deeply and raggedly as she took in her surroundings. She sat up quickly.

"Ma'am, you need to lay back while we look at your head." The medic explained. 

"No, I'm fine. It's just a little scratch." Erika shook her head, trying to steady her breathing. She stood up and held onto the railing for support. One of the medics wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. 

"Come on, Erika. There's someone waiting to see you." Ashton smiled softly and lead her outside toward the ambulance. 

"Luke!" Erika yelled when she got to the doorway.

"Oh, my God. Erika!" Luke yelled, running to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. "Oh, my God, baby." Luke sobbed, holding her body as close to his as possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him. "I love you. I love you so fucking much."

"I-I have to go, Luke. I have to find Jack."

"No, no, you're gonna go get your head checked out at the ambulance." Luke said wiping away some of the blood on her head. He walked her over to the ambulance and set her down on the step. "I'm going to go get Jack, okay? I love you." 

"Bye. Love you."


	10. 9

Erika walked into the church, holding Jack on her hip. Jack's head rested on Erika's shoulder and his hand was held firmly in Luke's. Erika walked down the aisle to the front pew and sat down with Jack in her lap. "Jack, do you remember what daddy told you?" 

"Needa be quiet." Jack nodded slowly and kept his head on Erika's shoulder. "When's mommy coming?"

"Jack.. mommy's not coming back.." Erika whispered, tears filling her eyes again.

"Where is she?" Jack looked up at her sadly. Erika turned to Luke, a tear falling down her cheek. 

"Jack, mommy had to go to a better place. She has to stay there, now." Luke explained, rubbing Jack's hand. 

"Oh.." Jack whispered, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. Erika sniffled and rubbed Jack's back gently. Luke sighed softly and pressed a kiss to Erika's head. 

"Everything's gonna be okay." Luke whispered, letting his lips linger on her skin. Erika looked forward at the casket that held her mother. People began filing in and taking their seats in the pews. The priest walked to the front of the church and began his sermon. He spoke of the violence and hatred of man, as well as the redemption we seek in the afterlife. 

"I'd like to ask Haley's daughter, Erika, to come say a few words." The priest spoke solemnly. Erika handed Jack to Luke and stood up, smoothing her dress. She walked up to the podium and let out a shaky breath. 

"Thanks everyone for coming out today. It means a lot to us that you would be with us through this hard time." Erika spoke slowly, trying to control her tears. "My mother was always an angel. Even while she was still alive, she was an angel. She was always looking out for others. It was never about her. Everything she did, was for me and my brother Jack." Erika sniffled and wiped her eyes. "In the days leading up to my mother's death, she spoke only of how much she loved me and Jack. I think she knew that she wasn't going to make it out alive." Aaron put his head in his hands from his spot next to where Erika had been sitting. 

"It's gonna be okay." Luke whispered, placing his hand on Aaron's shoulder. 

"My mother would not want us to mourn her death, but to celebrate her life." Erika started again. "I want to take a moment for us all to reflect on her life and the moments we shared with her." Erika smiled sadly at the crowd and made her way back to her seat. Aaron stood up and walked to the podium.

"Haley was the brightest part of my life." Aaron spoke softly. "She gave me only the best things in life. She gave me love, laughter, and two perfect children. If I could live my life over again, I wouldn't change a thing about the way I found her. I would, however, cherish her and love her stronger than I do now." He shook his head and looked down at the podium. "I just wish I had told her how much I loved her before she was taken from us." Aaron said, trying to hold himself together. He walked back to his seat and sat down next to Erika.

"You did great, dad." Erika sniffled, holding his hand. She rested her head on his shoulder. The priest made his way back to the podium. After the service, they took the casket to the cemetery. Erika held Luke's hand tightly as Haley's casket was lowered into the ground. Luke let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her smaller frame. He held her close and rubbed her back gently. 

"It's gonna be okay." Luke whispered, kissing her forehead. The backhoe covered the casket with dirt and people began heading to their cars. "Do you want to ride with me to the banquet hall?"

"Yeah.." Erika nodded slowly, resting her head against his chest. Luke nodded and wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her over to his car. They made their way to the large building where the fellowship would occur. Erika stood at the door with Aaron, greeting everyone. Once everyone had arrived, Erika walked over to where Luke was standing with Ashton, Michael, and Calum.

"Hey, Erika." Ashton smiled softly at her.

"Hi, Ash." Erika sighed, leaning into Luke. "Thanks for coming, guys.."

"You think we wouldn't? We didn't spend months working on this case to let you go through this alone." Calum smiled softly and rubbed her arm.

"There's gonna be food soon.." Erika whispered, looking at the ground. She looked up when Rossi made his way over to them.

"I wish we could stay, but we have a case." Rossi sighed.

"Can't they get one of the other teams to do it?" Ashton asked, crossing his arms. 

"We're the only ones available." Rossi explained. "Morgan's talking to Hotch, but we need to get to the airstrip." 

"I'm staying back." Luke said, wrapping his arm around Erika's waist.

"No, Luke. They need you." Erika looked up at him. "We'll be okay until you get back." 

"You sure, Erika?" Luke looked down at her. 

"Yeah, Luke. Go. I'll call you if I need you." Erika squeezed his hand gently.

"Alright, I'll call you when we land." Luke leaned down and kissed her lips gently before following the others out of the building. Erika sighed and walked over to where Jack and Aaron were sitting alone.

"Why is it that cases always come at times like these?" Erika sighed, sitting next to Jack.

"There will always be cases, Erika. We're never going to not have any." Aaron sighed, picking at his food. 

"Just wish they could have found someone else to take it." Erika sighed and thanked the server as he set a plate down in front of her. 

"They can handle it. We need some time to recuperate." Aaron sighed. Everyone ate and conversed, talking about life and death. Erika walked outside around 11pm and sat at the fountain. She took a deep breath and looked at the water. Her phone vibrated in her bra and she pulled it out, answering the call.

"Hi." She whispered softly.

"Hey, beautiful. We just landed in Nashville." Luke yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Are you still at the hall?"

"Yeah, I'm just out at the fountain now." Erika sighed. "How was the flight?"

"It was pretty short. It's not long from D.C. to Nashville." Luke explained. "You should get home and get some rest, baby. It's late." 

"Yeah, I'll probably take Jack home now. He's still up." Erika sighed, looking inside the building where Jack was coloring on a napkin. 

"Alright, baby. Get some rest. I'll see you soon." Luke smiled softly. "I love you."

"Bye. Love you."


	11. 10

The team had been gone for almost 2 weeks. 2 weeks that Erika and Luke had to spend with hardly any contact. "Are they back yet?" Erika asked, stirring the macaroni noodles on the stove. 

"I haven't heard anything yet." Aaron said as he unloaded the dishwasher. 

"I just want to see Luke. It's been 2 weeks since I've seen him." Erika sighed and turned the stove off. "The new All Time Low album came out and I need to listen to it with him."

"Just listen to it by yourself." Aaron rolled his eyes and flipped the page of his newspaper.

"You don't understand." Erika sighed and brought the pot over to the sink, draining the water. She set the pot back on the stove and poured in a little milk. "Fuck, I put in too much." She sighed and added the butter, stirring the noodles. She began pouring the cheese in and flinched as the alarm by the door began blaring. Aaron stood up and grabbed his gun, walking to the door.

"Shit, it's me! Please don't shoot." Luke held his hands up, dropping his bags to the floor. "I didn't think you had the alarm on." 

"You should've told us you were coming." Aaron scoffed, setting his gun down.

"I called you, you didn't answer, I left a message. I figured you got it." Luke sighed. "Where's Erika?"

"She's making dinner." Aaron said, turning the alarm off. 

"Baby?" Luke called out. 

"Luke!" Erika squealed and ran out to the living room. She ran into Luke's awaiting arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're here!"

"Yeah, I'm here. I talked to the director and I have the next 2 weeks off to stay with you." Luke grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I missed you so much." 

"I missed you more." Erika giggled, clinging onto his broad stature.

"Go be gross somewhere else." Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Ignore him. This has all been really hard on him." Erika sighed softly. "He's not used to not having mom around.. none of us are." Erika rested her head on his shoulder.

"Where's Jack?" Luke asked, gently rubbing his fingers down Erika's spine. 

"He's napping in his room." Erika explained. "He should be up soon for dinner." She walked back to the kitchen and stirred the macaroni to keep it from clumping together. 

***

After a week, Aaron was getting annoyed at having Luke around. "Are you sure you want to stay with us? Do we need you here?" Aaron asked as Luke set a plate down in front of Jack for breakfast. 

"I'm just here to make sure you're all okay." Luke said, looking at Erika. 

"Dad, please don't make him feel bad." Erika sighed, taking a bite of her toast. "He's trying to help us."

"We don't need his help. We're doing fine without him." Aaron crossed his arms. 

"Dad, stop it." Erika looked at Aaron. "He's doing this for us because he cares about us. Why can't you just ignore him?"

"Erika, it's okay." Luke sighed, rubbing her arm. "I'm dropping you and Jack off at the Air and Space Museum today. You'll spend some time together there, I've paid for an all access pass for both of you. Erika and I are gonna be going to the park." 

"The Air and Space Museum? Why there?" Aaron looked at Luke with an unimpressed look on his face. 

"Because, Jack is very interested in planes and rockets right now and you two need to spend some time together. You'll get to go inside the planes and rockets." Luke explained, cutting up Jack's waffle.

"Rockets!" Jack squealed, shoving a few pieces of his waffle into his mouth.

"Yeah, buddy. You're gonna be an astronaut for the day." Luke smiled softly.

"We don't need your charity." Aaron scoffed, standing up.

"Dad, sit down. We're not Luke's charity case. He cares about us as a family. Respect him." Erika glared at Aaron. "Finish your breakfast." She demanded. 

"Don't you talk to me like that, Erika." Aaron looked at her sternly. 

"Don't act like an asshole." Erika rolled her eyes and grabbed her plate, walking to the kitchen. She set her plate on the counter and walked to her room, ignoring Luke as he called after her. She slammed her door behind her and sat on her bed, putting her face in her hands. She tried to hold in her sobs, but they came out, wracking her body. Luke walked down the hall to her room. He knocked on the door lightly, leaning against the wall beside it. 

"Erika, can I come in?" He asked softly, chewing on his lip. 

"No." Erika said, her voice raspy and broken.

"Baby, I'm coming in." Luke sighed, opening her door. He walked in and carefully closed the door behind him. Erika laid on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, letting her sobs take control of her body. Luke's heart broke as he saw her shoulders shaking. He laid next to her and rubbed his hand down her back. "Let it out, baby." Luke whispered, blinking back the tears. 

"Why? Why did this happen to us?" Erika sobbed. 

"I don't know, Erika." Luke sighed, wrapping his arms around her. "It's not your fault it happened. There wasn't anything any of us could have done to stop him." Luke reassured her, holding her close.

"It's not fair. She was the only one I could turn to." She buried her face in the crook of his neck and sobbed, her tears soaking his shirt. "It should've been me. I was right there." 

"No, Erika." Luke's voice turned hard. "Do not ever say that." He cupped her cheek and forced her to look at him. "It would not have been better if it was you. It should not have been you. The world is lucky it wasn't you." Erika shook her head and looked up at Luke. 

"Jack needed her. It should have been me. It would have been easier if it was me." Erika sobbed, closing her eyes. "I wish it had been me.." Luke's heart shattered at her confession. 

"No." Luke whispered, his voice cracking. "Don't say that." A tear fell from Luke's eye as he looked down at her. Erika reached up and gently wiped the tear from his cheek.

"He tried to kill me, but it didn't work.. why didn't it work?" Her breathing came out shaky as she tried to calm down.

"It didn't work because the universe knew you needed to stay here." Luke sighed, drying her face with his shirt. "We need you." 

"I love you.." She whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. 

"I love you, so much." Luke pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Your dad and Jack are ready to leave for the museum. You need to get dressed so we can go to the park." Erika sniffled and stood up from her bed. "Wear shorts, it's gonna be hot today." Erika nodded slowly and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. She grabbed a pair of shorts from her dresser and one of Luke's shirts from the floor. She got dressed and slipped her phone into her pocket. 

"Okay, I'm ready." She sighed, looking up at Luke. He held her hand in his larger one and lead her out to the door where Aaron and Jack were waiting. The four of them walked down to Luke's car.

"Why are we riding with you?" Aaron asked, holding Jack's hand. 

"Because, I'm dropping you off at the museum and I'm picking you up when you're done." Luke said and got in the car. Erika walked around to the back and helped Jack into his carseat. 

"We could take my own car and leave whenever we feel like it." Aaron rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. 

"Dad, just get in the car." Erika sighed, getting in next to Jack. He sighed and got in the passenger seat, pulling his seatbelt on. "Don't know why you have to be so difficult all the time." 

"Erika, cut it out." Aaron said sternly. Luke got in the driver's seat and pulled on his seatbelt. 

"Just another week and all of this go back to how it was before." Luke reminded everyone as he pulled out of the parking garage. The ride to the museum was silent, except for the occasional giggle from Jack. Luke pulled up in front of the museum and handed Aaron the laminated passes. "Enjoy yourselves today." He smiled softly at Aaron.

"Don't tell me what to do." Aaron rolled his eyes and got out of the car, opening the back door to get Jack out. 

"Bye, Jack. Have fun with daddy." Erika smiled, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek before climbing to the front seat. She watched as Aaron walked up the stairs of the museum, holding Jack's hand. "Think they'll actually have fun today?"

"Jack's been asking to go here for the last week. If he has fun, Aaron will have fun." Luke slipped his hand into Erika's and pulled out of the parking lot. He got on the highway and sped down the road. 

"The park is the other direction." Erika looked at Luke, her eyebrows furrowed. 

"We're not going to that type of park, baby." Luke smirked, squeezing her hand gently. 

"Where are you taking me?" 

"Why are you acting like I'm kidnapping you?"

"Because, you're taking me to a foreign place!" 

"We're going to the park, Erika!"

"The park is the other way!"

"Erika, we're going to the amusement park!" Erika looked at Luke, her eyes wide.

"You're taking me to Six Flags?" She asked, a grin finding its way to her face. 

"I'm taking you to Six Flags." Luke laughed, passing the car in front of them.

"I haven't been there since I was, like, 10." Erika looked out the window, taking in her surroundings. "Isn't it a really long drive?"

"It's only about an hour and a half." Luke shrugged, glancing at Erika. "We'll get there before 11." 

"Why did you think to take me there?" She asked, looking back at him.

"I wanted to do something fun with you. And, Michael suggested I take you somewhere to let you scream." Luke laughed. "He meant somewhere where I would fuck you until you were screaming, but I figured you could use a little of both."

"If you try to finger me on a rollercoaster, I will fight you." Erika laughed. "There will be children around." 

"The fucking part comes after. Don't worry." Luke grinned, pressing a kiss to her hand. 

"Are we gonna fuck in the car? Cos I've always wanted to try that." 

"We can do that if you want to, but let's go on some rollercoasters first." Luke chuckled, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. The rest of the ride went quickly, both of them very excited for what the day would bring. When they got to the park, Luke walked up to the gate and handed the clerk their tickets. The clerk handed Luke the wristbands and allowed them into the park.

"This is so exciting!" Erika giggled, letting Luke fasten the wristband around her wrist. 

"Wanna know what's even better?" Luke smirked down at her as she fastened his. 

"What?" She chewed on her lip in anticipation. 

"We get to bypass the lines." 

"Luke, no way!" Erika squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"I wanted us to have the best day here, so I splurged a little and got us the best experience possible." Luke smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"How did you afford this? This has to be crazy expensive, and with the Air and Space Museum passes too? Luke, you're insane." 

"I told you, I'm a trust fund baby. I don't have to worry about money." Luke smiled and slipped his hand into Erika's. 

"You're spoiled, that's what you are." Erika giggled and laced her fingers with his. She pulled him through the park toward the Bat-Man rollercoaster. "Wow, that's a long line." 

"Good thing we don't have to wait in it." Luke grinned and pulled Erika through the rails, getting to the front of the line. The operator let them in and they took their seats on the ride. The operator came around and checked their restraints, making sure they were properly locked in. 

"I'm scared." Erika giggled, swinging her legs. "This one goes upside down." 

"You'll be fine. Just don't forget to breathe." Luke laughed, looking over at her. Erika was about to speak once more when the ride jolted forward. She let out a strangled scream and gripped the bar tightly. The ride was over before she could take a proper breath. 

"That was intense." She giggled breathlessly, looking at Luke. "Your hair is so messed up." She laughed, pushing the bar up. Luke laughed and ran his fingers through his hair, fixing it up. He walked down the exit stairs with Erika, holding her hand. 

"Which one next?" He asked, pressing a kiss to her head. 

"Uh, let's do that one." Erika said, pointing to the Bizzaro ride. The two of them spent four hours at Six Flags, going on each ride at least 3 times.

"Did you have fun today?" Luke asked, wrapping his arm around Erika's waist as they walked back to the car.

"I did. Thank you for taking me out today, Lu." Erika smiled, leaning into his side.

"After everything that happened, I knew you needed something like this." Luke unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat. Erika climbed into the passenger seat and looked at Luke.

"I love you a lot, Luke." She slipped her hand in his and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"I love you, too." Luke smiled, pressing his lips to hers. 

"Can we do it in the car now?" Erika asked, running her fingers through Luke's hair. 

"Let me just pull over to a more secluded part of the parking lot." Luke chuckled and started the car. He brought the car over to the corner of the lot. He parked the car and turned it off, dropping the keys into the cup holder. "Get in the back." Erika giggled softly and climbed into the back. Luke climbed to the back with her and cupped her cheek, pressing his lips to hers, kissing her deeply.

"There's not much room back here." She mumbled against his lips, unbuttoning his jeans. 

"That's what happens when you have sex in the car." He chuckled, pulling her shorts down. He pulled her thong off and tucked it in his back pocket. "I'll be keeping this." Luke pressed his lips to hers again and pulled her hips up against his. 

"I'll get them back." Erika giggled, pushing his boxers down enough to free his erection. 

"Only if I let you." Luke smirked, rubbing his cock between her folds. She gasped softly and bucked her hips against him. 

"Fuck me." Erika whimpered softly, chewing on her lip. Luke lifted her hips and slipped inside her, filling her up. She let out a soft moan and held onto his shoulders. "Feels so good." Luke hummed lowly and pulled out, thrusting back into her roughly. Erika moaned loudly and rolled her hips up against Luke's.

"You're so tight." Luke groaned, thrusting faster. Erika moaned louder and arched her back. 

"Faster, Luke. Please." She begged, moaning louder. Luke groaned and gripped her hips, thrusting faster and harder. "Yes, just like that." Erika moaned. Luke brought his fingers down to her clit, rubbing hard and fast. Erika screamed in pleasure, gripping Luke's biceps. 

"Fuck, princess, you feel so good around me." Luke grunted and pounded into her, hitting all the right spots.

"I'm so close, Luke. Fuck." Erika whimpered, bucking her hips harder. Luke groaned and pounded into her harder, holding her hips up against his. "Oh, God, fuck!" Erika moaned loudly, her eyes squeezing shut.

"Come on, princess. Come for me." Luke groaned, rubbing his thumb over her clit. She whimpered softly as she released around him. He grunted louder as he released, coating her walls with his load. He thrusted slowly, letting Erika ride out her orgasm. 

"Fuck, Luke." She moaned, arching her back. Luke smirked and pulled out of her, grabbing a box of baby wipes from the floor. "Why do you have baby wipes?"

"For car sex." Luke said seriously. Erika looked at Luke, a look of confusion mixed with fear. Luke laughed softly and cleaned Erika's thighs with the baby wipes. "I'm kidding, Erika. They're for spills and messes."

"You're a freak." Erika rolled her eyes playfully and pulled her thong out from Luke's back pocket. She pulled her thong and shorts back on and climbed into the passenger seat once more. Luke sent a soft slap to her ass as he pulled up his boxers and jeans. 

"Call your dad and tell him we're on our way." Luke climbed into the driver's seat and searched for the keys. Erika dialed Aaron's number and held the phone up to her ear. 

"Hotchner." He answered.

"It's me, Luke and I are on the way to get you guys." Erika said, picking the keys up from the cup holder and turning them in the ignition.

"Thanks, princess." Luke grinned and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit." Aaron said, various noises in the background.

"Bye. Love you."


	12. 11

Aaron and Erika returned to the BAU a week later. Both of them were more than ready to get back to work. "Welcome back, Erika." Wendy smiled softly as Erika walked over to get a cup of coffee. 

"Thanks." Erika smiled and poured her coffee. "It feels good to be back." 

"I heard Luke stayed with you guys for a while after the funeral." Wendy stirred her coffee, mixing the milk into it. 

"Yeah, he knew we needed it." Erika giggled softly.

"You're lucky you have him. He cares a lot about you and your family." Wendy took a sip of her coffee and looked over at where Luke was laughing with Calum.

"I'm very lucky." Erika smiled to herself and watched Luke. 

"Conference room in 5. We've got a case." JJ said as she refilled her mug.

"How bad is it?" Erika asked, picking up her bag. 

"It's pretty bad." JJ sighed and walked to the conference room with Erika and Wendy. Everyone took their seats around the table and Michael walked to the front of the room by the screen. 

"LA has had 5 victims over the course of 3 months." Michael started explaining. "Each victim is blonde with blue eyes. All were abducted from the same park in broad daylight, but no one saw anything."

"Disposal sights are all different." Morgan added, reading over the file. 

"That is correct. Two were found in the woods, one in a river, one in the desert, and one in a highway ditch." Michael explained. 

"What was the official C.O.D?" Aaron asked. 

"Their bones were crushed. Completely shattered." Penelope answered, shuddering at the thought. 

"Each victim was also raped repeatedly and tortured." Michael added. "This UnSub abducts women approximately once a week, and LAPD has requested our help immediately."

"We're up against the clock here. Wheels up in 30." Aaron explained. "Erika, I need you to call your Aunt Jessica to stay with Jack."

"Got it." Erika nodded and dialed her number. It went to voicemail, so she left a message. "Hey, Aunt Jess, it's me. We got a case in LA, so we need you to stay with Jack. Please call me when you get this. Bye. Love you."


	13. 12

When the team landed in LA, Erika was sent to the medical examiner with Luke, Reid, and JJ. "Was there any DNA on the victims?" Reid asked as the four of them followed the M.E. into the room. 

"There was plenty of DNA, but there was no match in any database, and we can't be sure it was from whoever did this." The examiner explained. 

"Are these ligature marks on the victim's wrists?" Luke asked, looking down at the most recent victim.

"Yes. Each victim had the same lacerations around the wrists, so we know they were restrained. There are also marks around the ankles." The examiner said. "Based on the size and shape of the mark, I'd say they were strapped to a table. Similar to the one they're on now."

"What can you tell us about the torture the victims endured?" JJ asked. 

"Well, it's hard to tell from the condition the bodies are in now. The lacerations on the chests look like they could be from an electrical wire. My guess is, he shocked them until they passed out and then raped them while they were unconscious." 

"Thank you for speaking to us. We'll contact you if we have more questions." Reid nodded to the examiner and followed the others out. 

"I hope we catch this guy soon." Erika sighed. 

"Well, he most likely already has his next victim." JJ sighed and slid into the driver's seat. JJ drove them back to the station and they met up with the rest of the team.

"What did you find out from the M.E.?" Aaron asked.

"There was DNA on all the victims, but there wasn't a match. We should get the DNA to Garcia and see if she can find anything in a wider search." Reid explained.

"Morgan and Emily are at the most recent dump sight and Rossi's at the abduction sight. They haven't found anything yet, either." Aaron explained. 

"We just got a report of a missing person." Detective Saunders said as he walked over to the team. "A Yvonne Smith. Husband said she was at Canterbury Park with their 8 year old daughter, Millie."

"When was she abducted?" Aaron asked.

"Yesterday afternoon." 

"That means we have less than a week to find her." Aaron sighed. Erika took a seat at the table. 

"What's the significance of crushing their bones?" Erika sighed, resting her face in her hands. 

"It's a sign of excessive rage. He's not satisfied until he's mutilated them to the point of unrecognizable." Reid explained. Erika shook her head and pulled out her phone as it vibrated. 

"Hold that thought." She stood up and walked outside. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, Erika. It's Jessica." 

"Oh, hi. Were you able to get Jack from school today?" Erika asked softly.

"Yeah, I think he was expecting you, though." Jessica laughed softly.

"Well, this is gonna take some getting used to for him." Erika sighed. "Thank you, so much, for your help Jess. It means so much to my dad and I." 

"Erika, you're my family. Your mother would have wanted me to help as much as I can." 

"Everything feels so different without her.." 

"It'll get easier, Erika. I promise. Now, go get back to work and catch the bad guy." Jessica smiled.

"We'll do our best." Erika smiled softly. "Tell Jack I love him."

"I will, honey."

"Alright, bye. Love you." 


	14. 13

It had been 3 days since Yvonne Smith had gone missing, and the team hadn't found any leads. "We have less than 4 days before we get another body and we have nothing." Emily sighed, sipping her coffee. 

"Let's review what we do know." Aaron suggested. "We know that the torture is a buildup to the rape. He gets off on the torture, as well as through the act itself." 

"Crushing their bones is a sign of rage." Derek added. 

"What if something happened to the UnSub and he or someone close to him were crushed by something?" Calum suggested. "He could have lost someone close to him who was blonde and looked like our victims." 

"I'll have Garcia and Michael check for any records of people being crushed." Derek said, pulling out his phone. He dialed the office number and set his phone on speaker.

"Speak and be heard." Penelope answered. 

"Hey, baby girl, we need you to search for any records of someone being crushed. Maybe an avalanche or something." Derek explained. 

"Go back 15 years. Our UnSub has to be in his late 30's to early 40's to be able to carry out this extensive amount of torture." Ashton added. 

"I got something." Michael spoke up. "There was a woman in Bakersfield who was hiking with her husband and son when a landslide came. She was crushed by the falling rocks."

"It could be something. Does the woman match our victim type?" Reid asked. 

"No, she's a brunette." 

"Keep looking." Aaron instructed. 

"Yup, we'll hit you when we find something." Penelope agreed, hanging up. 

"What's the significance of the park?" Erika asked, looking at the pictures of the abduction site.

"It's very open and has easy access to multiple service roads." Rossi explained. "There's a forest on the west edge, which could be where he's bringing them." Everyone looked up when Detective Saunders entered the room. 

"A couple joggers just discovered Yvonne Smith's body on a trail down by the river." Saunders explained. 

"He only had her for 3 days. He's spending less time with the victims." Aaron stood up. "Ashton, Reid, and Luke, you'll be coming with me to the dump site. The rest of you keep working on the profile." Aaron explained, walking out to the SUV. The others followed him out. 

"He's going to be looking for his next victim soon. He usually waits a couple days after dumping the body to abduct someone new." Derek explained. 

"He dumped Yvonne much sooner than the other victims, he might be choosing a new one sooner." Erika sighed. 

"We need to assume he's sticking to his pattern." Rossi added. "But, what made him dump Yvonne so soon?"

"Maybe she died before the torture was over." Calum suggested. "Or, she just wasn't what he wanted." 

"Maybe we should send someone out as bait." Emily suggested. "If we could find someone who fits the victim type." She said, all eyes turning to Erika. 

"What? No way. Not a fucking chance." Erika scoffed, looking at them. "How could you even suggest that?"

"Erika, we'd have you wired. You'd be under our surveillance." Derek explained. "We'd get you out before he was able to do anything to you." 

"My dad would never let this happen." 

"We'll bring it up again when they get back." Emily sighed. "We need to use this opportunity to lure him out."

"Well, use someone else." Erika crossed her arms.

"But, you fit the victim type. You're a blonde in her early 20's, you're slim, and you're beautiful." Calum explained. 

"What if it doesn't work? What if you don't catch him and he kills me?" 

"Erika, we would not let that happen." Derek said, holding her hand. "You trust us, don't you?"

"I trust you, but I don't always trust the ideas of this team." She sighed, looking at Derek. "Our ideas don't always work.." 

"We'll make this work. We won't let anything happen to you." Rossi reassured her. 

"My dad and Luke will both be against this." Erika reminded them. "Good luck convincing them." 

The others came back a little more than an hour later. "What did you find from Yvonne's body?" Derek asked. 

"She was already dead when her bones were crushed." Aaron explained. "There was a deep laceration on her neck which severed the carotid artery. She bled out."

"That's different from the other victims." Rossi noted. "Why would he stray from his M.O.?"

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe it happened during the torture and he didn't plan on her dying." Calum suggested, once again.

"Whatever happened, he's probably angry." Ashton added. "He didn't get to play out his fantasy the way he wanted."

"He'll be choosing another victim soon." Aaron said, sitting down.

"We've already been looking from that angle." Rossi explained. "We want to use Erika."

"What? Use Erika? Like, as bait?" Luke stammered. "You've got to be out of your fucking minds."

"We'd have her wired, we'd have our vans out to keep an eye on her. We wouldn't let anything happen to her." Derek added.

"She's the perfect fit for the victim type. This could lure the UnSub out enough for us to apprehend him." Aaron pondered, looking at Erika. Erika gaped at Aaron.

"You want to set me up as bait?" Erika scoffed. "I'm your daughter and I could die."

"We're not using her as bait. That's the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard." Luke agreed.

"Can I speak to you over here for a moment?" Aaron looked at Luke sternly as he stood up. Luke crossed his arms and followed Aaron out of the room.

"Are you honestly trying to send Erika out there? This is a highly skilled UnSub." Luke looked at Aaron.

"You're too attached to do your job right." Aaron countered. "Setting Erika up as bait is not as bad as it sounds. We need to use this to our advantage."

"She could get killed, Aaron. Are you ready to lose your daughter less than a month after losing your wife?"

"I made a mistake, and I lost Haley as a consequence. I am not going to make that mistake again."

"Setting her up as bait is a mistake."

"We're doing it, and that's final. I am in charge of the members of this team, that includes you and Erika." Aaron walked back into the room, Luke trailing behind.

"We're using Erika as bait." Aaron crossed his arms. Erika scoffed and stood up, walking out of the room.

"Bye. Love you." 


	15. 14

Luke followed Erika out of the room. "Hey, come here." He sighed, grabbing Erika's hand.

"They're setting me up to get murdered, Luke. They have no feelings about it." Erika sighed, looking up at Luke. 

"They do have feelings about it, but they also want to catch this guy." Luke sighed, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. He's not going to hurt you." 

"Luke, I'm scared.." Erika whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise." Luke whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you." 

"What if he kills me, Luke? What if this doesn't work and I end up as his next victim.."

"Erika, I will not let him hurt you. I am going to keep you safe, even if I have to do it myself." Luke held her close. "I won't let anyone take you away from me." Erika sighed and buried her face in his chest. "Come on, princess. I need to see your pretty smile." Luke whispered, tilting her face up to his. She looked up at him, holding back her tears. "Erika, I love you, so fucking much. I promise you, nothing will happen to you."

"You don't know that, Luke. This could be the last time you hold me.." 

"Don't say that." Luke clenched his jaw. "This is not the last time I'll hold you. You're going to come out of this just fine, and we're going to catch our UnSub." Erika sighed and rested her forehead against Luke's shoulder. "Let's go get this over with, please. I need to get you back in my arms as soon as possible." 

"I love you." Erika whispered, pulling away from him. 

"I love you, too." Luke sighed, walking back into the room with Erika. 

"Great, you're back. Let's get you set up." Aaron said, gathering the wiring. 

"Each victim was dressed in exercise gear, so we'll be putting you in spandex shorts and a tanktop." JJ added. She handed Erika the clothes and walked with her to the bathroom.

"I can't believe this." Erika sighed, walking into a stall. 

"Erika, you're going to be just fine. This team has your back 110%." JJ reasoned with her as she waited. Erika sighed and changed into the new outfit. 

"I just don't get why my dad thinks this is such a good idea. Mom was killed less than a month ago, and he's already putting me out there for an UnSub to kill me." Erika sighed and walked out of the stall. "You'd think he'd be a little more hesitant about throwing me out there."

"Hey, your dad just wants to catch this UnSub. We all do. He wouldn't have agreed to this, unless he knew you would be safe." JJ sighed, looking at Erika. 

"Whatever." Erika sighed and walked out of the bathroom, going back to the team. 

"Okay, we're gonna get you hooked up now." Calum explained. "This is gonna go in your ear." He said, handing her a piece. She took it and placed it in her ear, allowing Calum to hook the receiving box to the back of her shorts. "I'm gonna need to get up under your tanktop." 

"Oh, okay." Erika nodded, pulling her top up enough for Calum to hook the wires to her chest. 

"These are going to give us access to hear whatever's going on around you. The earpiece is so you can hear us." Calum nodded to her. 

"Great, let's get this done." Erika sighed, pulling her tanktop down. 

"We're gonna drive out to the park, but we're gonna drop you off about a half mile from the actual park. You'll need to jog to the park, so you look like you're exercising." Rossi explained.

"Just find a seat on a bench, drink some water, look busy." Derek added. 

"Okay, let's go." Erika sighed. Luke held her hand gently as they followed the others out to the surveillance vans. Erika sat next to Luke in the van and rested her head on his shoulder. 

"You're gonna be okay, princess." Luke whispered, pressing his lips to her hair. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't talk them out of it." He sighed, inhaling deeply.

"If anything happens to me, please don't forget about me.." Erika whispered. 

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to you. I promise." Luke hugged Erika tightly. "You're going to get there, and we're going to catch the UnSub." 

"Alright, this is where you get out, Erika." Aaron said as the van stopped. She stood up and sighed. 

"If I die, I hope you never forgive yourself." Erika said, looking directly at Aaron as she got out of the van. She closed the door and took off running down the sidewalk toward the park. Luke sighed and took a seat next to Aaron, putting the headset on, so he could hear and speak to Erika. 

"Did she mean that?" Aaron asked, turning to Luke.

"She's just upset. She feels like you don't care about losing her." Luke sighed, looking at Aaron. "She lost her mom and now she's being put in dangerous situation. A situation close to what her mother went through. She feels like Haley's death doesn't mean anything to you." 

"Of course it means something to me. Haley was everything to me, and it's my fault she's gone." Aaron sighed, looking down at the table.

"No, it's not. But, that can't bring her back. Let's focus on making sure Erika stays here." Erika ran to the park and stopped when she came to a bench. She breathed deeply and sat down, trying to control her breathing.

"I hate all of you, so much." Erika coughed a little and tilted her head back. 

"Excuse me, ma'am? Could you help me load my mother's wheelchair into the van?" A slight woman asked as she stopped in front of Erika with a woman in a wheelchair. "I normally wouldn't ask, but usually my daughter is here to help and I'm not strong enough to do it myself. You look fit, so I figured you could help." Erika stood up, waiting for someone to tell her if she should or not. 

"We didn't profile the UnSub as being a woman. You're safe." Derek spoke, his voice coming out small through the earpiece.

"Yes, of course, I can help you." Erika smiled softly at the women. She followed them over to the white minivan and helped the older woman into her seat in the car. 

"I just need to fold up the chair and put it in the back." The younger woman explained. 

"Oh, sure." Erika smiled and walked around to her. She helped the woman fold up the chair and slide it into the back. The woman closed the door and turned to Erika. 

"Thank you, so much for your help." She smiled. "I'm sorry to have to repay you this way." Erika looked at the woman confused.

"What are yo-?" Erika was cut off as the van next to her opened up. A man reached out and grabbed Erika's waist, pulling her into the van. She screamed out as the door slammed behind her. The man ziptied her hands behind her back and her ankles together. "Let me go!" She yelled, kicking her legs at him. 

"Fuck, Luke, stay here in case she tries to talk to us." Aaron said, quickly standing up and removing his headphones. He ran out of the van, gun drawn, and ran with the others toward the parking lot of the park. The van in which Erika was encased, had already pulled out of the parking lot. Aaron ran over to the woman who brought Erika to the van. "Put your hands in the air and turn around." Aaron demanded, his gun aimed at her. 

"I haven't done anything wrong." The woman said, putting her hands up. "I was just about to take my mother home." 

"You have the right to remain silent." Aaron started as he pulled her arms down, cuffing them behind her back. "Anything you say, can and will be held against you in a court of law." 

In the surveillance van, Luke was going crazy. "Erika, can you hear me?" 

"Luke, you have to help me.." Erika sobbed, looking toward the man driving. 

"I'm going to help you, baby. Can you see from the windows in the van?"

"No, they're covered.."

"I'm going to find you, Erika. I won't let them hurt you." Luke sighed. "I'm going to stay here with you for as long as I can." 

"He's gonna kill me." Erika whispered, sobbing. 

"No, baby, he's not going to hurt you. I won't let that happen." 

"J-just keep talking to me.. please." Erika sniffed, watching the driver. 

"I'm here, princess. I'm not going anywhere." Luke sighed. "I'm not going to let him hurt you. I'll never let anyone hurt you." Erika sobbed quietly. Aaron walked back into the surveillance van. 

"Anything?"

"Yeah, she's here." Luke said, handing Aaron a pair of headphones.

"Erika?" Aaron spoke softly.

"You said he wouldn't get me.." Erika sniffled. 

"I know, I'm sorry." Aaron sighed. "I didn't work hard enough to save your mom, and I'm not working hard enough now." 

"Dad.." Erika sobbed. 

"Erika, I haven't been the best father to you, but I love you. You're my daughter, and I love you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to find you before he hurts you." 

"Erika, did you see his face? Can you see his face?" Luke asked, grabbing a paper and pen.

"He's white, brown eyes. He's wearing a mask, but I could see his eyes and his mouth." Erika sniffled. "Oh, God, the van stopped." Erika whimpered, backing into the corner. The man parked the van and climbed into the back to Erika. 

"Who the fuck are you talking to?" He demanded, gripping Erika's throat. 

"N-No one. Please, don't hurt me." She begged, looking up at him scared. 

"Erika, do what he says. Play along. We'll find you soon." Aaron said, looking at Luke. Erika whimpered softly and squeezed her eyes closed.

"Bye. Love you.." 


	16. 15

Erika had been gone for 3 hours. Luke couldn't focus on anything. His mind was racing with thoughts of Erika. He couldn't stop imagining what this guy was doing to her. He sat next to the window, Erika's phone in his hands. There was a picture of the two of them set as he lockscreen. He sighed heavily and looked down at the image. It was during their trip to Six Flags. Luke had just spilled ice cream on his jeans and Erika was laughing. Erika had taken her phone out to take a picture of mess Luke made, but he was too quick. He had picked up his ice cream and wiped it on Erika's face. She had started laughing harder and Luke took her phone from her, taking a picture of the two of them as he gave her a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Luke, we could really use your help over here." Ashton said, looking over at Luke. "You were one of the last ones to talk to her."

"I-i can't.." Luke sighed. "I can't focus.." 

"You can still help us. You know Erika better than any of us." Calum added. 

"Did she say anything to you before I got back to the van?" Aaron asked. Luke shook his head and put Erika's phone in his pocket. 

"No, she just said she was scared. She was crying and it sounded like she was trying to get out of something." Luke sighed. "My guess is, he had her restrained from the moment she got in the van." 

"Do we know who the women are that lured her away?" Emily asked.

"The younger woman is Judith Parker. Her mother is Ethel Parker." Rossi said. "Judith was never married, never had any relationships, no jobs, no schooling. This woman doesn't have a life at all." 

"We need to establish how she knew the UnSub." Aaron explained. "Did Judith have any siblings?"

"None. Her father died on his way to the hospital." Calum sighed. "There's no record of her ever meeting anyone. She didn't leave the house until she was 18. That's when we have the first actual evidence of her existing, other than her birth certificate." 

"She told Erika that her daughter usually helps with the wheelchair." Luke recalled, looking toward the team. 

"Well, she either lied or she has a child that isn't in the database." Rossi shrugged. 

"We need to interrogate Judith and her mother," Aaron said. He stood up and walked out of the room. He walked into the interrogation room that Judith was in and slammed the door. "Who are you working for?" He demanded. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Judith rolled her eyes. 

"Yes, you do. The man you're working for has my daughter!" Aaron slammed his palms down on the table. "Tell me who you're working for!" 

"I'm not working for anyone." Judith smirked softly. "But, if I was, I wouldn't tell you anyways."

"You're already being charged with accessory to 6 murders and the kidnapping of my daughter." Aaron took a seat across from Judith. "You're never going to see the outside of a cell again. And, I will not give up until I have my daughter back." 

"Tell me, agent, how did your daughter end up in this situation?" Judith looked up at Aaron. "How could you let your daughter get taken?"

"This isn't about me. Tell me who you work for and where he's keeping my daughter!" Aaron demanded, not wanting to talk any longer.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She repeated, leaning back in the chair. Aaron rolled his eyes and stood up, walking out of the room. He walked back to the team.

"She's not saying anything. She was taunting me." Aaron clenched his jaw. 

"She probably knows it was a stupid fucking idea to send Erika out there." Luke rolled his eyes. 

"Don't you fucking start with this, Hemmings." Aaron glared at him.

"Maybe, you should've listened to me before. If any of you had listened to me, Erika might still be here!"

"We wouldn't have found Judith without using Erika!"

"You'd rather lose your daughter and find a piece that doesn't fit, than have your daughter survive!"

"Hey!" Derek yelled. "Arguing about this isn't going to find her!"

"She didn't want to do it. She knew something would go wrong." Luke put his face in his hands. 

"We need to focus on finding her, not thinking about what went wrong." Ashton sighed. 

"Luke, what was the last thing she said?" Calum asked, sitting next to him. Luke shook his head, tears spilling from his eyes. 

He wiped his eyes and whispered, "'bye. Love you.'"


	17. 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets kind of graphic so if rape or violence make you uncomfortable, please skip this chapter

Three days had passed with no new leads. "We have nothing. How are we supposed to do this?" Luke sighed, cuddling the pillow as he laid on his hotel bed.

"We'll find her. We know more than we did before." Ashton said, laying next to Luke. 

"But, we still don't know enough to find her." Luke buried his face in his pillows. There was a knock at the door and Calum got up and opened the door. 

"Hi, there was a package delivered to the front desk for a 'Luke Hemmings.'" The bellhop explained. 

"That's me." Luke sighed, getting up. He took the package from the bellhop and closed the door. "I wasn't expecting anything." 

"Well, open it. What is it?" Ashton asked, sitting up. Luke sat on the edge of the bed and opened the box.

"It's a DVD." Luke furrowed his eyebrows and walked over to the TV. He put the DVD in the player and turned on the TV.

"Why would someone send you a DVD?" Ashton asked, watching as Luke pressed play. Erika's figure appeared on the screen. She was strapped to a table, her wrists and ankles bound. 

"Oh, my God.." Luke's voice broke. His eyes were glued to the screen. He watched as Erika squirmed against the metal table. Ashton got up and ran out to the hallway.

"Hotch!" He yelled, not caring if he woke the other hotel guests. Aaron came out of his room, as well the other team members.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked, jogging down the hall to Ashton.

"Luke just got a delivery." Ashton sighed, walking back to his room. Everyone filed in, the video still playing. 

"I-is that my daughter?" Aaron asked, looking at the TV. 

"He's making us watch him kill her.." Luke stared at the screen.

*Earlier*

"Who the fuck are you talking to?" The man yelled, gripping Erika's throat. She screamed and tried to squirm out of his grip.

Bye. Love you.." She coughed out as the man ripped the wires from her chest. The man sent a slap to her cheek as he threw the wires to the other side of the van. 

"Stupid cunt." The man growled, crawling back to the driver's seat. He sped down the road, Erika being thrown into the wall. Once the van stopped again, the man got out and pulled open the back door, dragging Erika out by her hair. 

"Please, don't hurt me." She begged, sobbing. 

"Shut your mouth." The man demanded, dragging her down the cellar stairs to his chamber. He picked Erika up and laid her on the table. He cut the zipties from her hands and feet before binding them to the metal table. 

"Please.. please, let me go." Erika whimpered, tugging at the restraints. "I'm FBI. You'll never get out, if you kill me." 

"The FBI can't catch me. They tried, but they failed. And, now you're here." The man smirked. "My very own special agent." He chuckled and grabbed a knife. He cut her tanktop, pulling it off of her. "Who knew an FBI agent would wear such a slutty bra. I knew those other girls would, but you? You don't seem the type." He ran his fingers along her shoulders, playing with the straps of her bra.

"Stop it." Erika whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. 

"You can call me Hunter." He smirked, pulling her spandex down. "You'll need something to scream out when I'm fucking you." 

"P-please, don't do this." Erika begged, trying to pull her legs together.

"Stop resisting. It'll only hurt more." Hunter smirked and ripped her thong, exposing her. 

"Please, I don't want this. Just let me go." Erika sobbed as Hunter grabbed an iron pole from the table. He pulled on his gloves and attached a cable to the pole. "Stop, please. Don't do this." 

"I'll do whatever I damn well please." He growled, pressing the pole to Erika's stomach. She screamed in pain as the electricity sizzled against her skin. Hunter chuckled and turned to the wall behind him. He reached up and pressed the power button on his camera. "You're going to tell me who to send this to when I'm finished with you." He smirked and pressed the record button. He walked back to Erika and held her face in his hands. "You're my bitch now. I'll do whatever I want to you." He smirked down at her before slapping the back of his hand against her cheek. 

"Stop!" Erika sobbed, pulling at the restraints. "Please, just let me go." She begged, watching as Hunter removed his belt. He gripped it tightly before sending it whipping down against Erika's thighs. She screamed in pain, the tears falling freely down her flushed cheeks. Hunter whipped the belt against her stomach and then her arms, making his way to her neck. 

"You like the pain, don't you?" He smirked, pushing his dirty jeans down his legs. He settled himself between Erika's thighs and pushed his boxers down. "You're gonna love this." Hunter chuckled darkly as he forced himself into her. She sobbed and turned her head to the side, trying to dissociate herself from the situation. "Look at me, you ungrateful whore." He grabbed the iron pole and pressed it against her neck, her skin burning beneath the electricity.

"Stop.. please.." Erika begged, her tears soaking her face as the pain coursed through her body. Hunter chuckled darkly and pounded his hips against hers. Blood dripped down her thighs as he released inside her. She whimpered and kicked her legs, trying to free them from the restraints.

"Quit squirming." Hunter growled. He pulled up his pants and grabbed the iron pole, dragging it along her stomach, scorching her skin. She screamed at the pain and squeezed her eyes closed. 

"Please, stop!" Erika begged, her voice coming out ragged and broken.

"Shut up!" Hunter yelled, slamming the pole down on her ribs. She gasped for air as she felt her ribs cracking beneath the weight of the pole, the electricity surging in the spaces between her bones. He smirked and pulled Erika's thong and shorts up. He laid a blanket over her and gently ran his knuckles along her cheek. "Save up your energy, princess. You'll need it." 

"Let me go.." Erika sobbed, struggling to breathe.

"I'll be back in the morning." Hunter smirked and turned the light off as he left the cellar. 

In the morning, Hunter came back into the cellar. He pulled the blanket off of her roughly and folded it up in the corner. "Please.. just let me go.." Erika whispered, her breathing jagged. 

"I've got plans for you today, Miss FBI." Hunter smirked and turned on the camera again. He started recording and turned to Erika. "Big plans." 

"No, please, let me go." Erika begged, tears filling her eyes again. 

"Stop begging." He growled, punching her in the jaw. "Only whores beg." He gripped her jaw and made her look at him. 

"I-I'm sorry.." Erika sobbed. She looked up at Hunter, her fear evident in her eyes. 

"Say 'hi' to the camera, princess." Hunter smirked, bringing the camera to Erika's face. Erika closed her eyes and turned her face away from the camera. "Look at the camera!" Hunter shouted, his knuckles connecting with Erika's eye as he slapped the back of his hand against her face. She yelped in pain and tried to bring her hand to her eye, but it was still strapped to the table. 

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, looking at the camera. "I'm sorry." 

"You will be." He rolled his eyes and picked up a fireplace poker after placing the camera back in its position on the tripod. 

"Please don't do this.." Erika looked at the poker. "Please." 

"Stop saying that!" Hunter yelled, stabbing Erika in the ribs with the poker. She screamed in pain and tried to squirm away from the poker. He pulled the poker out and slammed it down against her ribs. She whimpered and gasped for air, unable to breathe. Hunter pulled her shorts and thong down again. "Stay quiet." He growled, pushing his jeans and boxers down. 

"Please, don't.." Erika said, barely above a whisper. Hunter gripped her thighs tightly as he roughly forced into her. She whimpered at the pain and tugged at the restraints. Hunter pushed her legs farther apart and continued to roughly thrust into her. "Stop, please.. stop.." Erika gasped in, her broken ribs making it hard to get a proper breath. 

"I said, 'stay quiet!'" Hunter growled, thrusting harder. Erika screamed and sobbed, kicking her legs. He gripped her knees to keep her still as he released into her, groaning loudly. "I might keep you around." He smirked and pulled out of her. He pulled up his jeans and adjusted himself. "I quite like you." He chuckled darkly and pulled her shorts up. 

"Please, let me go.." Erika whimpered. "M-my baby brother's only 4." She breathed in sharply, pain coursing through her ribs. Hunter picked up the camera and held it in front of Erika's face. 

"Say 'goodbye' to your friends and family, princess." Hunter chuckled, forcing Erika to look into the camera. 

Erika took a sharp breath and let out a broken whisper, "bye. Love you."


	18. 17

The video ended and everyone in the room was silent. "Someone please tell me that wasn't my daughter.." Aaron choked out. 

"Hotch.." Derek sighed, placing his hand on Aaron's shoulder. 

"Get this video to Garcia and Michael right away. We need this video analyzed frame by frame." Aaron explained, pulling the DVD from the player. Wendy carefully took the DVD and put it in the paper slip. 

"I'll get it sent." Wendy said, walking out of the room. 

"Wh-what if she's already dead..?" Luke muttered, his face pale. 

"We have to assume she's alive. He said he liked her and that he was going to keep her around. He probably hasn't killed her yet." Rachel reassured him.

"Yet." Luke shook his head and looked down at his hands. "I need some air." Luke stood up. He stumbled slightly, placing his hand on the wall to steady himself. 

"Hey, hey, sit down. Take a deep breath." Ashton helped Luke sit on the chair in the corner of the room. Luke leaned over and threw up on the carpeted floor of the hotel room. 

"We all need to get some rest. We can pick up where we left off when we get the analysis of the video." Derek suggested as he grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Ashton to give to Luke.

"What? I'm not resting until we get Erika back alive." Luke looked at Derek. "How can you even suggest that?"

"Luke, there's nothing we can do for her right now." Derek tried to reason. Luke shook his head and chugged the water, handing Ashton the empty plastic bottle.

"I am not going to sit here while that son of a bitch is hurting my girlfriend." Luke stood up. "I'm going to find her whether you all want to help or not." 

"Of course, we want to help, but there isn't anything we can do. We have no leads, Luke." Rossi added. 

"Bullshit." Luke scoffed. "None of you care about Erika, you only care about catching the UnSub."

"Well, you don't care about catching this guy. You're too emotionally invested in this case." Emily countered. 

"Ashton, call the front desk and have them get someone to clean up this mess." Aaron instructed. "Luke, bring your things to my room. The rest of you, get some sleep." Ashton nodded and sat on his bed, picking up the bedside phone. Everyone else filed out of the room and went to their respective suites. Luke gathered up his go-bag and followed Aaron down the hall to his room. Aaron pulled out his phone and dialed Garcia's office number. 

"Mm, hello?" She answered, clearly having just woken up.

"Garcia, we've just sent you a video and we need a frame by frame analysis." Aaron explained. 

"Okay, it's just downloading no-." She paused. "I-is that Erika?" 

"Yes, it is. Now find something from this video that we can use." Aaron instructed. "Get Michael to help you. We need as many eyes as we can get." 

"Yes, sir. I'll hit you back when we have something." Penelope hung up. 

"Okay, let's start at the beginning." Aaron said, looking at the evidence he had pinned up on the wall of his hotel room. 

"The killings started 3 months ago with the first victim. Something had to have happened then to cause this sort of psychotic break." Luke said, looking over the file.

"We need to find the stressor." Aaron nodded, adding a picture of Erika to the wall of victims. 

"We need to watch that video again." Luke sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'll go get the download from Wendy and I'll send the DVD to get swept for prints." Luke stood up and left the room. Aaron rubbed his jaw and looked over the autopsy results of each victim. Luke came back in with the USB that contained the video. "Wendy's taking the DVD to the station to get it processed." 

"Why did he send the DVD? None of the other families were sent videos." Aaron furrowed his eyebrows. 

"He knows she's FBI. Maybe he forced her to tell him." 

"But, it was addressed to you." Aaron looked at him. "I'm her father, but the video was sent to you." 

"He probably asked her who to send it to. She knows how hard it would be for you to watch it." 

"Or, she thought I wouldn't care." Aaron sighed and sat on the bed. 

"She knows you care, Aaron. She just needs you to show it." 

"It's my fault this happened.." Aaron looked down at his hands. "I shouldn't have let her be used as bait. I shouldn't have told her it was okay to help the woman."

"Aaron, you can't blame yourself." Luke sighed and plugged the USB into the TV. 

"I'm going to lose my daughter, because I'm too engrossed in my job to care." 

"Aaron, stop it." Luke sat next to him. "This isn't going to help us find Erika."

"Just start the video." Aaron rubbed his face and watched as Erika popped up onto the screen. The two of them watched the video for hours, just studying every part of it. Aaron picked up his phone as Penelope called. "What have you got, Garcia?"

"I've got nothing, sir. There's nothing in this video that could be interpreted into anything. Parts of this video have been edited, but there's no way to know what he took out." Penelope sighed. 

"Thanks, Garcia. Keep looking." Aaron said as he hung up. "Garcia couldn't get anything from the analysis." 

"If Erika doesn't make it out alive, I'm quitting my job to spend the rest of my life tracking down this son of a bitch." Luke looked at the screen. He watched as Erika muttered out the last words he'd ever hear her say.

"Bye. Love you." 


	19. 18

It had been almost a week since Erika had been taken. The team was running out of time and everyone was walking on eggshells. "How can we not have any leads? We have someone in custody, but we know less than we did before." Luke sighed, rubbing his head. 

"We'll find her, don't worry. We have several officers at the dump site." Derek looked over at Luke. 

"The only way he'll take her to the dump site, is if he kills her." Luke rolled his eyes. 

"We are going to find her, Luke. We promised her that." Aaron sat down next to Luke. 

"We aren't going to find her without any leads!" Luke stood up. "I can't just sit here while my girlfriend is being raped and tortured by this man!"

"Okay, let's go over what we have so far." Rachel suggested, opening her file. "The victims are all blonde, brown eyes, thin."

"They may be a preference, or they can be surrogates." Ashton suggested. 

"Surrogates for who?" Calum pondered, comparing the pictures of the victims. 

"For Judith?" Rossi furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Maybe a younger Judith." Spencer shrugged. 

"Wait, Judith said her daughter usually helped with Ethel." Luke added. "Has anyone talked to Ethel? She might know something." 

"She was taken back to her assisted living facility after Judith was taken into custody. Morgan, take Calum and Rachel with you and talk to Ethel." Aaron instructed. "Call us if you find out anything." 

"Alright, let's go." Derek stood up and walked out with Calum and Rachel.

"Judith doesn't have any record of having kids." Wendy said, looking over the file. 

"What if she gave the daughter up for adoption?" Luke asked. "The UnSub could be the child's father. The victims are surrogates for the daughter she put into the adoption system." 

"Call Garcia and Michael and see if they can find anything." Aaron nodded to Luke. Luke grabbed his phone and called Michael.

"Please tell me you found her and we can stop watching this God forsaken video." Michael groaned. 

"I wish that was why I'm calling." Luke sighed. "How many girls have been through the adoption system in the last 20-25 years?"

"That's literally millions." Michael sighed. "What are you looking for?"

"The UnSub most likely had a child with Judith. We think Judith may have put her up for adoption." Aaron added.

"Okay, any way to narrow this down?" Michael asked.

"Look for children who entered the system 20-25 years ago." Rossi instructed. 

"Mm.." Michael hummed, the keys of his keyboard clacking in the background. "That would 64,000 girls." 

"Narrow it down to just in California." Luke said.

"Uh." Michael held out the note. "48,000." 

"That's still too many." Luke sighed. 

"Michael, look for girls with blonde hair and brown eyes." Aaron instructed. 

"Hey, we have Judith's DNA. Can we match that to kids in the adoption system?" Spencer asked. 

"There's 847 open adoptions. I can check it against those, but the rest are sealed." Michael explained. 

"How many girls are blondes with brown eyes?" Aaron asked again.

"Let me see." Michael hummed. "15,000 in California. Only 328 open." 

"How long will it take you to unseal the adoptions?" Luke asked.

"Longer than we have time for." 

"We need to narrow it down more." Emily sighed. 

"What about kids born in Bakersfield? Judith hasn't left the area, so she probably had the kid here." JJ added. 

"That's 1,476 girls." Michael said. "Only 2 were open, but there were 183 girls that were never adopted."

"The child could be one of them. Do they have DNA on file?" Rossi asked. 

"They should." 

"Okay, run Judith's DNA against the open and unadopted kids. If you don't get a match, have Garcia work with you on unsealing the adoptions." Aaron instructed. 

"You got it, Mr. Boss-Man." Michael said as he ended the call. 

"We need to talk to Judith now." Rossi said.

"I'll do it." Luke grabbed his file and walked down the hall to the interrogation room. He walked in and looked at Judith. "I'm SSA Luke Hemmings. I need you to tell me some things now." 

"I already told every other agent that came in here, 'I'm not telling you anything.'" Judith smirked at Luke. 

"Why'd you give up your daughter? Because her father was a homicidal maniac?" Luke sat down across from her. 

"I-I don't have a daughter." Judith squirmed in her chair, avoiding eye contact with Luke. 

"Look, the father of your daughter has my girlfriend in his possession right now. He sent us a video of him raping and torturing her."

"That's my problem how?" Judith rolled her eyes. 

"Tell me why you gave up your daughter." Luke demanded, looking at Judith. 

"I'm not telling you a damn thing." Judith scoffed, leaning back in her chair.

"You already don't have a chance of ever seeing the light of day, you might as well just tell me."

"I'm not telling you. You're wasting your time." 

"I will be back." Luke warned. He stood up and walked out of the room. He walked down the hall back to where everyone was sitting.

"Get anything out of her?" Aaron asked. 

"She knows she'll be convicted, but she refuses to talk." Luke sat down. "What is she protecting?"

"The better question is, 'Who is she protecting?'." Rossi sighed. It was a couple more hours before Derek returned with Calum and Rachel.

"Please tell me Ethel told you something." Luke sighed, laying his head down on the table. 

"She couldn't give us much, but she kept mentioning her granddaughter." Calum explained. 

"We determined that Judith had a daughter that she put up for adoption. Michael and Garcia are running her DNA against the girls in the adoption system." Luke added. "I went in and talked to Judith, her body language changed when I mentioned her daughter." 

"And, you think the UnSub is the father?" Derek asked.

"Most likely." Aaron nodded. 

"It's gonna be hours, maybe even days, before we get any matches in the database." Luke sighed, and he was right. It took Michael and Penelope 32 hours to find a match. Michael had called Luke while the team was out at dinner. "What did you find?" Luke asked, putting Michael on speaker.

"Well, we got a match on a child. Her name is Rebecca Gordon." Michael said. 

"Where is she?"

"That's the thing. She's dead." Michael explained. 

"She's dead?" Aaron asked. 

"Yes, she died 3 months ago. She had been living in Kansas with her adoptive parents, when a landslide came and and crushed the house." Michael answered. 

"Bones were crushed?" Luke asked. 

"Bones were very crushed. She was a mangled mess when officials found her body in the house." He added. 

"Was there a father listed on her birth certificate?" Rossi asked. 

"Nope. No father. Just her mother." 

"Thanks, Mike. We can use this against Judith. Maybe she'll talk now." Ashton looked at Aaron. Michael ended the call.

"We can talk to her in the morning." Aaron nodded. 

"Erika could be dead by then. We can't wait." Luke looked at Aaron. "We need to go talk to Judith now." 

"Luke, we can talk to her in the morning." Aaron said, looking back at Luke. Luke looked down at his phone as it vibrated. 

"Hold that though." Luke clenched his jaw and answered the phone. "This is Luke." 

"L-Lu.." 

"Erika?" Luke's eyes widened. "Baby, where are you?" He put the phone on speaker. 

"I-I don't know," she took a sharp breath. "It's hot, I can't breathe." Aaron quickly dialed Michael's number again. 

"Set up a trap and trace, we've got Erika on the phone right now." He demanded. He sent Michael the number. 

"Erika, is he there with you?" Ashton asked, leaning across the table. 

"H-he went to cut the power." Erika inhaled weakly. 

"Baby, who is he? We need to know who he is." Luke begged. "Please, Erika, we need to find you." 

"He's back.." Erika whispered. She whimpered softly as Hunter held a knife against her neck. "Y-you can find me at 3421 Seedle Lane. Don't expect this to end well." 

"Erika, you're going to be alright, we're going to find you before he can kill you." Aaron spoke softly.

"I have to go. Come soon." Erika let out a shaky breath, her fear evident in her tone. 

"We're on our way." Luke stood up quickly.

"Bye. Love you."


	20. 19

Luke tucked his phone into his pocket. "Why are you still sitting here? Let's go." Luke looked around at everyone. 

"Luke, you need to be ready to lose her. There's a chance we won't get her out alive." Rachel sighed. 

"Don't fucking say that." Luke clenched his jaw. "We are finding her alive." 

"We just want to make sure you're okay with this." Ashton looked at Luke.

"That I'm okay with this?" Luke looked back at Ashton. "I haven't been okay with anything this team has done since you all decided to use Erika as bait." Luke glared at everyone. "I don't care what it takes, but I am finding her alive. I am not going to lose her to this." 

"You need to be prepared for this in case it doesn't work out. You know, these cases don't always end well." Spencer added. 

"Stop saying this shit to me! We are finding her alive!" Luke yelled, earning stares from the other people in the restaurant.

"Luke, you need to calm down." Aaron demanded, looking at Luke. 

"No, I don't need to 'calm down.' I need to find my girlfriend alive." Luke seethed. "We should be on our way there now, before he kills her." 

"We need to get ready for this. We need to stop back at the station and get vests and enough magazines." Rossi explained. 

"Then let's fucking go. Why are we just fucking standing here?" Luke looked around at everyone. 

"He's right, we should go." Calum stood up. Luke and Calum walked out of the restaurant, the team following behind them. They made it back to the station and everyone put on their vests. Luke loaded a fresh magazine into his gun and tucked it into the holster on his belt. 

"Alright, Luke, I want you in the SUV with me, Rossi, and Calum." Aaron explained. "Morgan, take Reid, JJ, and Rachel with you. Emily, take Ashton, and Wendy with you." 

"Let's go." Morgan nodded, walking out. Luke walked with Calum to the SUV and climbed into the back. 

"I'm scared." Luke sighed, looking out the window. 

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Calum sighed, squeezing Luke's shoulder. "I know this is hard, but whatever happens, it's going to be okay." 

"I just need to find her. Now." Luke shook his head and watched as the large warehouse came into view. His breathing sped up and he bit his lip.

"Luke, be ready for bad news." Aaron sighed as he parked in front of the building.

"I will not." Luke got out of the car quickly. He pulled out his gun and waited for the others to get out. "Let's go find Erika." 

"Once we get inside, I want Luke to stay with me and Dave, take Calum with you. We leave no space unchecked." Aaron explained, looking at Rossi and Calum.

"You got it, Aaron. Let's find your daughter." Rossi nodded to Aaron. Aaron walked to the building and pulled open the door, holding his gun in front of him. Luke followed closely behind Aaron, his gun drawn and flashlight out in front of him. He followed Aaron down the dark hallway. Luke pushed open a door, shining his light around the room. 

"That's clear." Luke sighed, turning back to Aaron. 

"Let's keep looking." Aaron sighed, continuing to walk down the hallway. 

"Aaron, wait." Luke whispered, stopping in his tracks. He shined his light down on the ground, looking at the trail of blood. 

"Is that Erika's?" Aaron asked, looking at Luke. 

"I don't know, but we need to follow it." Luke said, running down the hall in the direction of the trail of blood. 

"Luke, wait!" Aaron called after him. He jogged down the hallway, following Luke. Luke stopped at the end of the trail, a brick wall. 

"it just stops. Right here at a wall. They couldn't have gone through a wall." Luke sighed, rubbing his face.

"There's gotta be a door around here somewhere." Aaron shined his light around, searching for a way in. 

"Aaron, look at this." Luke said, sounding oddly calm. Aaron walked over to Luke and looked at where his light was shining. "There's hinges." Luke stated, looking at the metal protruding from the wall. He pressed his hands against the wall, searching for a way in. He pushed harder against the wall, and with Aaron's help, the wall began to move. "What the hell.." Luke whispered, looking into the room. 

"Guys, we found something." Aaron said into his earpiece, alerting the team. Soon enough, everyone met at the small room beyond the wall. 

"What is all this?" Rachel asked, looking around the room. 

"It's torture equipment." Luke choked out, looking at the table in the middle of the room. "This is where he tortured her.." 

**Earlier**

Erika whimpered softly as Hunter pulled her up from the table. "That's enough. It's time to go." Hunter hooked a chain to Erika's bound wrists and pulled her up roughly.

"Wh-what? Where are we going?" Erika sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. 

"You're a dumb fucking cunt." Hunter rolled his eyes and shoved Erika out the door. He tugged on the chain, dragging her behind him as he walked to his van. He shoved her in and injected her with a sedative, paralyzing her briefly. He got in the car and began driving, frequently checking back on her to see if she was still passed out. When he had arrived at his destination, he got out of the van and pulled open the side door. "We're here." He smirked at Erika.

"Please, just kill me.." Erika whimpered, feeling her limbs shutting down. 

"Where's the fun in that?" Hunter laughed and pulled on the chain, dragging her body from the van. He dragged her inside the small shed and hooked the chain to the ceiling, hoisting her up. 

"Don't do this. Please." Erika begged, tugging at the chain. She screamed in pain when Hunter's belt connected with the skin of her back as he whipped her. 

"How many times are you going to beg? You know I'll do whatever I want." He smirked and trailed his fingers down the welt forming on her back. He pulled back and whipped the leather belt down on her back once more, the material slicing her skin. She screamed in pain and gripped the chains, trying to dissociate herself from the pain. 

"Stop! Please!" She whimpered, trying to move away from Hunter. 

"You dumb cunt." Hunter seethed, whipping her back once more. She cried out at the stinging and squeezed her eyes shut. She breathed deeply, pain searing through her broken ribs. "They'll never find you alive. And, your father is going to have to live with the fact that he got his wife and daughter killed." Hunter laughed darkly. "Maybe I should get that punk you call a brother. I bet I could have some fun with him." Erika's eyes snapped open. 

"Touch my brother and I will kill you myself." Erika growled, sending a kick to Hunter's groin. He groaned and fell the ground, cowering in pain. 

"You fucking bitch." He spat, grabbing a baseball bat from the side wall. "You're gonna pay for that." He swung the bat at Erika's stomach. She coughed hoarsely, trying to take a breath. "It's time for you to make a phone call." Hunter smirked and pulled a small phone from his bag. "Tell me, who should we call: your boyfriend, or your father?"

"B-boyfriend.." Erika wheezed out. Hunter held out the phone to her and allowed her to dial Luke's number. He held the phone to Erika's ear as the phone began to ring.

"This is Luke." He answered, his voice rough but still soft as she had remembered.

"L-Lu.." Erika coughed out.

"Erika?" Luke asked, his fear and concern evident in his voice. "Baby, where are you?" He asked. 

"I-I don't know," she took a sharp breath. "It's hot, I can't breathe." Erika struggled against the chains, her legs wanting to give out. Hunter shoved the phone between Erika's ear and her shoulder. He walked out of the shed, leaving Erika alone.

"Erika, is he there with you?" Ashton asked, his voice sounding small in the background.

"H-he went to cut the power." Erika inhaled weakly. She watched as Hunter came into the shed.

"Baby, who is he? We need to know who he is." Luke begged. "Please, Erika, we need to find you." 

"He's back.." Erika whispered. She whimpered softly as Hunter held a knife against her neck. "Y-you can find me at 3421 Seedle Lane. Don't expect this to end well." She cried softly as she read off the small paper Hunter held in front of her. 

"Erika, you're going to be alright, we're going to find you before he can kill you." Aaron spoke softly.

"I have to go. Come soon." Erika let out a shaky breath, her fear evident in her tone. 

"We're on our way." Luke spoke softly into the phone.

"Bye. Love you."


	21. 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave feedback. I really want to know what you all think of this. More feedback means more updates!

"We have to find her." Luke rubbed his face as he climbed back in the car with Calum. "We need to find her." 

"Hey, it's okay. We're going to find her." Calum sighed, wrapping his arms around Luke. Luke had been holding in his fear from the moment they suggested Erika lure the UnSub out. He buried his face in Calum's neck and broke. The tears fell freely as Luke sobbed into Calum's shirt. Calum couldn't help the tears that filled his eyes. "We're going to find her.." Calum sighed, holding Luke close to him. Calum rubbed Luke's back to comfort him, even though he knew nothing could help him. 

"I can't lose her.." Luke cried, his tears soaking Calum's shirt. Calum held Luke the whole way back to the hotel, even after Luke had fallen asleep. Calum carefully got out of the SUV and carried Luke's large frame into the hotel, all the way up to his room. Calum laid Luke down in the hotel bed and carefully tucked him in. 

"We'll find her.." Calum whispered, turning the lights off as he left the room. 

***

Another 3 days had gone by with nothing. No phone calls, no videos, no communication of any kind. "We can't stay here. LAPD wants to rule it a cold case." Aaron sighed, sitting down with the rest of the team. 

"What? They can't do that. He still has her." Luke slammed his hand on the table. "This isn't fair!" 

"Luke, calm down." Derek glared at him. "Yelling about it isn't going to find her." 

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you all hadn't decided to send her out there!" Luke yelled. 

"You're too attached to her, Luke, and you know it! You couldn't see the good side of putting her out there!" Derek yelled back. 

"I'm too attached? What about her father, huh? Aaron agreed to send his daughter into the UnSub's hunting ground!" Luke stood up. "Do I care more about Erika than her own father does? Is that what you're saying?"

"Luke, sit down. Now." Aaron demanded, glaring at Luke. Luke sat down again and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"If you guys would've just listened to me, Erika would be here right now.." Luke whispered, looking at his lap.

"In order to keep looking into this case, we need to work on personal time. We'll be doing this without communication with LAPD. It's all on our own." Aaron sighed. "I hope you all can agree to stay, but if anyone feels that they would like to step back from the investigation, you can head home now." 

"Hotch, we're not going anywhere. Erika is a part of this team and a part of our family. We're going to help find her." Emily squeezed Aaron's hand gently. A small smile tugged at Aaron's lips. 

"We need to go back over victimology. We need to look specifically at Erika." Spencer stated, glancing around at the team. 

"Let's take this to the hotel. We can work from there." Aaron said, standing up. "I just need to make a quick call." He nodded at the team and dialed Jessica's number.

"Aaron?" She answered.

"Hey, Jess, would you mind watching Jack a while longer? We've hit an unexpected roadblock and we'll be needing to stay in LA longer than expected." Aaron explained. "Can I talk to Jack?"

"Yes, here he is." 

"Daddy?" Jack asked into the phone.

"Hi, buddy. Listen, Daddy and Riki have to stay for a while longer." 

"When will you be home?" Jack sighed, his sadness clear in his voice.

"I don't know. Daddy needs to find the bad guy." Aaron sighed.

"Can I talk to Riki?" Jack asked softly. Aaron was about to answer when an officer entered the room.

"Guys, a body was just found in Santa Monica." One of the LAPD officers said.

"Is it Erika?" Luke stood up quickly.

"We don't know yet, but we have guys getting ready to go down there. I wanted to alert you all first." The officer explained. 

"Let's go." Aaron nodded. Jack, buddy, I have to go." 

"Okay, daddy." Jack sighed. 

"Bye. Love you." 

 


	22. 21

"Please, be alive.." Luke whispered to himself as Aaron sped out of the parking lot. 

"Luke, are you prepared for the worst?" Calum asked from the backseat.

"No, and I don't need to be. She's alive." Luke crossed his arms. "She has to be." 

"Luke, we don't know that. You need to be ready to lose her, if that's what this comes to." Rossi added. 

"Stop it. She's alive and she's going to be okay." Luke let out a deep breath and looked out the window. Aaron sighed from his seat and sped down the highway, the sirens blaring. It took about 15 minutes to get to the beach, and Luke was getting antsy. The ambulance pulled up behind them and Luke got out, running down the beach. "Erika?!" He yelled as he saw her lifeless body laying at the shoreline. He knelt next to her and felt her neck for a pulse. 

"Is she alive?" Ashton asked as he made his way down to Luke, the team trailing behind.

"She's got a pulse." Luke answered, cupping Erika's jaw. "Baby, can you hear me?"

"L-Luke.." Erika choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. Luke looked down at her body, a frown finding his face as he took in her bruises.

"Where's the medic?" Luke asked, looking around. The paramedics jogged down the beach with the stretcher in tow. They lifted her up carefully and placed her on the stretcher. "I'm riding in with her." Luke stated as he followed the medics back up the beach. They loaded Erika into the ambulance, Luke climbing in after. He took a seat next to her and held her hand. Erika groaned slightly and tried to move. "Hey, baby, it's okay. Just stay still." Luke whispered, rubbing her hand. The ambulance took the two of them to the hospital, but once they got there, Luke wasn't allowed any further. 

"You'll have to wait out here, sir." One of the nurses explained. "I'll come get you when we have any news." Luke nodded and watched as Erika was wheeled behind swaying doors. He sighed and took a seat in the waiting room, putting his face in his hands. 

"Where is she?" Aaron asked as he arrived with the rest of the team. 

"I don't know.." Luke shook his head. "They took her back and the nurse said she'd tell me if they had any news." 

"Why did the UnSub let her go?" Spencer asked, taking a seat. 

"Maybe she was too close to dying." Aaron suggested. 

"Or, she wasn't as fun anymore." Ashton sighed. 

"Do you think she'll remember anything?" Luke asked, picking at his cuticles. 

"We can do a cognitive, if she doesn't." Derek sighed. "Right now, we just need to be here for her." Luke nodded and looked down at the ground. The team waited for what felt like years, but was only 4 hours. The nurse walked out to the group with her clipboard in hand.

"Are you all here for Miss Erika?" The nurse asked, looking at them.

"Yes, we are." Aaron nodded. 

"Wonderful. We need to alert the next of kin, she's stable and breathing on her own." The nurse explained. 

"I'm her father, I'll take care of all of that." Aaron nodded to her. 

"She's allowed visitors, but it might be better if only a couple of you go at once. She's still a little disoriented." The nurse nodded. Luke and Aaron stood up at the same time. 

"Big shocker there." Derek leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Luke rolled his eyes and walked down the hall with Aaron, both of them silent. Luke walked into the room and took a seat next to Erika's bed. 

"Erika?" Luke whispered softly, looking at her battered body. 

"Mm.." Erika whimpered lowly, slowly opening her eyes. Aaron sat down next to Luke and carefully held Erika's hand. 

"Erika, we need to know who did this." Aaron said softly.

"No.. you don't get to walk in here and do this." Tears filled Erika's eyes as she looked at Aaron. "I was raped and tortured for days, I need my dad. Not an FBI agent." Erika cried, pushing his hand away. 

"Prince-" Luke started, only to be cut off by Erika's piercing scream. "Fuck, Erika, I'm so sorry." Luke's eyes widened, remembering what the UnSub had called her when he raped her.

"I can't do this right now." Erika shook her head. "I don't remember anything about him, except for the way his hands felt on my body." She sobbed, covering her face with her hands. 

"Hey, it's okay. Erika, we don't have to do this now. We just want to make sure you're physically okay." Luke sighed, rubbing her arm gently. 

"Okay, well, I'm not." Erika looked at Luke. "I have 9 broken ribs, internal bleeding in my abdomen, I was fucking raped multiple times. I could have died, and it's this teams fault for sending me out there." 

"Luke, can I have a second alone with my daughter?" Aaron sighed, looking at Luke. Luke nodded and stood up. 

"If you need me to come back in, just holler." Luke said, looking down at Erika. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before walking out of the room. Aaron sighed and scooted his chair closer to Erika's side. 

"Erika, I'm so sorry.." Aaron sighed, squeezing her hand. 

"You sent me out there, dad.. you didn't protect me." She sobbed, pulling her hand away again.

"Please, Erika, I'm sorry." Aaron looked at her, tears forming in his eyes. It was the first emotion she had seen in him since her mother had passed. 

"Why did you let me be set up?" She wiped her eyes and looked at Aaron.

"I wasn't thinking about how it would affect us. I was only thinking about the UnSub.." Aaron admitted, looking down at his lap. "The same thing that happened when I got your mother killed." 

"Dad.. you can't blame yourself for mom's death. Foyet would've found a way to kill her anyways." Erika sighed, grabbing Aaron's hand.

"Erika, I need you to know that I love you. I haven't been the best father to you, but I'm going to do better. I'm going to make sure you know that I love you." Aaron squeezed her hand.

"Dad," Erika started. 

"Let me say this, please." Aaron sighed. "I know you think I resent you, but I don't. It's just been really hard for me, and it was hard for your mother too." Aaron looked at Erika softly. "We were 18, we had no idea how to raise a child. I started studying more, and Haley was left to raise you mostly on her own. We were both still trying to figure out who we were and what we were." Aaron explained. 

"Dad, why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you need to hear it." Aaron sighed. "I have never regretted having you and I have never wished things to be different. I've spent so long working to make sure you had the life you deserved." Erika shook her head and looked at Aaron, tears falling freely from both of them. 

"Then why did you let your job get in the way of being a parent?" Erika sniffled, wiping her eyes. 

"I was too wrapped up in it to realize how badly it was affecting my family." Aaron shook his head. "All of this is my fault. It's my fault your mother was killed, and it's my fault you were hurt." 

"I-I can't remember anything.. I'm sorry.." Erika sobbed, looking at Aaron. 

"Honey, it's okay." Aaron rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. "You don't have to remember yet." 

"I can't help you catch him." She covered her face as she sobbed. Aaron looked up when the forensic team walked into the room.

"We need to get pictures." One of the men explained, holding up his camera.

"Pictures?" Erika sniffled and looked at Aaron.

"They need pictures of your injuries. We need to examine them against the other victims." Aaron sighed.

"N-no. I'm not a victim." Erika shook her head. "I don't want to be treated like a victim." 

"Erika, they just need pictures." Aaron held her hand again. "I'll be here the whole time." Erika sniffled and nodded slowly. 

"We'll need to take the gown off." The technician explained as he sat her up. Erika looked to Aaron, fear in her eyes.

"It's okay, I'm here." Aaron rubbed her hand. She nodded to the technician and he carefully untied her robe. Aaron clenched his jaw when he noticed the welts and cuts on her back. "He whipped you?" Aaron looked at her. 

"Y-Yeah.." Erika sniffled, allowing the technician to take the photos he needed. 

"He used a belt." The technician explained. "There are deeper lacerations at the ends of the wounds."

"Can you tell what type of instrument was used on the burns?" Aaron asked, looking at the injuries scattered along Erika's skin. 

"It looks like a curling iron, maybe a metal rod of some kind." The technician nodded. "These cuts were likely made from a regular kitchen knife. The blade would've been dull, which is why the cuts are jagged." The technician explained as he finished taking the pictures of her injuries. "Alright, we're all done here." 

"Thank you." Aaron nodded, helping Erika get her robe tied again.

"Can you have Luke come back in? I need some alone time with him." Erika sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. 

"Alright, honey. I'll be in the waiting room with the rest of the team." Aaron nodded as he stood up. "Bye, Erika."

"Bye. Love you."


	23. 22

Aaron walked out of Erika's room and looked at Luke. "She wants to see you. If you can get her to do a cognitive interview, that'd be fantastic." Aaron explained. 

"It's too soon for that, Aaron. She needs time." Luke sighed and stood up. 

"Just see if she'll do it." Aaron sighed and walked down the hallway, heading back to the waiting room. 

"How is she?" Spencer asked, looking at Aaron. 

"She doesn't remember anything. I'm trying to get Luke to give her a cognitive." Aaron took a seat next to Rossi. 

"Luke's not trained to give a cognitive alone." Derek looked at Aaron.

"He can do it. He's the one she trusts the most from this team. He'll do fine." Aaron sighed, leaning back. 

"What's bothering you, Hotch?" JJ asked, everyone turning to Aaron. 

"Erika was born when Haley and I were just teenagers. Haley was always so terrified that we wouldn't be able to raise her, so for the first, like, 5 years of Erika's life, she lived with Haley's parents. Once I got out of college and started working and saving money, we bought an apartment and took Erika back." Aaron explained. "Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better for her if she had stayed with Haley's parents forever."

"Aaron, you've done a great job raising her." Ashton sighed. 

"No.. Haley did a great job raising her. I was never around. I was always at work. I got my job as a prosecutor, and I would work late to get overtime. Then, I started at the BAU and I was home even less. Haley always told Erika that I wasn't home because I was actually a superhero, and I needed to be gone to fight the crime in the world. Erika was, like, 11 then, but she believed it. It broke her heart when I told her I wasn't a real superhero." Aaron laughed sadly, looking at his hands. "She was 14 when she told me she wanted to be a profiler. She had signed up for courses at the local community college for psychology and she already had her associates degree by the time she graduated high school. She was always very determined to get the education she wanted."

"Why are you telling us this?" Wendy asked, sighing softly.

"Because, I need you all to know the Erika I know." Aaron sniffled. "If something were to happen to her, I don't want everyone to remember her as the girl whose father never smiled or the girl whose mother was murdered. I want you to know her as the girl who fought for what she wanted."

"Hotch, we know Erika. We know she's strong and courageous." Derek sighed. 

"She can be a little whiny at times, and she's kind of annoying sometimes, but she's part of this team. We all are, and we're a family." Rachel sighed. "We love her." 

"She's gonna be really mad at all of us for a long time." Aaron wiped his eyes. "We sent her out there and because of that, she's suffered through more trauma than I ever wanted for her."

"She'll get over it." Calum nodded. "She always does." Aaron nodded slowly and rubbed his hands along the arms of his chair. Meanwhile, Luke walked into Erika's room with a cup of coffee.

"Hi, Erika." Luke whispered as he sat down, handing her the coffee. Erika sat up carefully and sipped the coffee.

"Did you get the video he sent?" Erika asked softly, looking at Luke.

"It was sent to my hotel room." Luke sighed. "We had no idea what it was, and when you showed up on the screen, I couldn't breathe." 

"There were more.."

"More videos?" Luke asked, looking back at Erika. She nodded and sipped her coffee again. 

"He recorded everything.."

"Hey, you don't need to tell me this yet." Luke sighed, holding her hand. 

"Did you try to find me?" Erika whispered. 

"Erika, I haven't slept since he took you." Luke scooted his chair closer to her bed. "I worked nonstop to try and find you." 

"I'm sorry." She sighed, lacing her fingers with Luke's. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for. This is not your fault. Nothing that happened to you is your fault." Luke squeezed her hand. He brought his hand to her wrist and rubbed his thumb over to the ligature marks. "Do you remember what he used to bind you?"

"I don't remember anything helpful." Erika sighed, pulling her hand away. 

"Will you let me run a cognitive?"

"You're not trained." Erika looked at him. 

"I'm trained enough, Erika. We need to do it while it's the most fresh in your memory." Luke sighed. "Please, Erika."

"Fine.." Erika sighed, setting her coffee aside. She carefully laid back in her bed.

"Okay, close your eyes and try to relax." Luke sighed, rubbing his thumb over Erika's knuckles. Erika sighed and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind. "Okay, you're at the park. What's the weather like?"

"It's sunny. Hot." Erika sighed. "My leggings were getting sticky." 

"Okay, that's perfect. What do you see around you?"

"There's children playing. I was watching a little girl climb the slide ladder when I was approached by the two women." Erika explained. 

"You're doing great, baby. They took you over to the van, and then what happened?" Luke encouraged her.

"I had just gotten the old lady into the van when I was grabbed from behind. He dragged me into the van and pinned me down to the floor." Her voice cracked as she experienced the event all over again. "H-he used zip ties to bind my wrists and ankles. They're too tight and I can't get out."

"Tell me about the van." 

"It's white. the windows are covered. It's completely empty." She pictured the van.

"How long was the drive?" 

"It was long. Maybe 2 hours." She nodded. "He took me to a building. It was large and looked abandoned. He took me to this room behind a wall and he strapped me down to the table. He cut my clothes off, so I was only in my bra and underwear." Erika let out a deep breath. "H-he had on these black gloves and they felt cold when he touched me. He burned me with this big pole thing." Her voice came out shaky. "And.. and, he'd drag it down my skin to make longer burns." 

"You're doing so well, Erika." Luke rubbed her hand. 

"He would push my legs up and squeeze my ankles as he raped me." She cried, trying to fight off the memory of his touch. She thrashed her legs against her blankets.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm right here, he can't hurt you." Luke reassured her, squeezing her hand. 

"He wouldn't stop calling me 'princess.'" She whimpered. "He never used a condom, but he would always pull out." She recalled. "He liked to see it on me when he finished."

"Can you see his face? Did he tell you his name?" Luke pressed, watching as Erika squirmed against the sheets. 

"H-he told me to call him Hu-." She sucked in a sharp breath, struggling to breathe in. 

"Erika?" Luke asked, his eyes widening. "Erika, baby, what's happening?" He looked at the machines as they started beeping faster. Multiple nurses and doctors rushed into the room and were speaking quickly. "Can someone tell me what's going on?" Luke asked, looking around frantically. 

"Sir, you need to leave the room. Someone will come find you when you can come back." One of the nurses explained, ushering Luke out of the room. She closed the door, not allowing Luke to even see into the room. Luke sighed and walked down the hall to the waiting room.

"What happened?" Aaron asked, standing up. 

"I-I don't know.. she was fine and then all of a sudden, she couldn't breathe." Luke shook his head. "They made me leave the room." 

"Did you get anything from the cognitive?" Derek asked. 

"Not really. She was in the van for about 2 hours before he took her to the torture room." 

"It doesn't take that long to get there from the park." Spencer furrowed his eyebrows. "He must have made stops along the way."

"Or, he purposefully took the long way to make sure she wasn't memorizing turns." JJ added. 

"Did you get a name from her?" Wendy asked. 

"She started to say his name before she stopped breathing." Luke sat down and put his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have made her relive it."

"You had to. It's the only way to figure this out." Ashton sighed. Aaron pulled his phone out of his pocket as it rang.

"Hotchner." He answered. 

"Jack saw the news." Jessica sighed. "FBI Agent found on Santa Monica beach weeks after being abducted." 

"Jess.."

"Why didn't you tell me that Erika was abducted?" Jessica asked. "Jack thinks she's dead, Aaron. He won't stop crying." 

"Let me talk to him." Aaron sighed, rubbing his forehead. Jessica handed the phone to Jack.

"It's daddy." She rubbed his back.

"Daddy, where's Riki?" Jack asked softly, his voice hoarse from crying.

"She's okay, buddy. She's with the doctors right now." Aaron explained. 

"Is she gonna go see mommy?" Jack sniffled, more tears welling up in his eyes.

"No, Jack. She's gonna stay with us, don't worry." 

"I wanna talk to her.." He sighed.

"You can't talk to her, buddy. She's with the doctors." Aaron sat back down. "Do you want to talk to Luke?" 

"Yeah!" Jack exclaimed, perking up. Aaron smiled softly and handed the phone to Luke. 

"It's Jack." Luke took the phone and held it up to his ear. 

"Hey, Jack." Luke smiled softly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Is Riki gonna be okay?" Jack asked.

"Yes, she's gonna be just fine. I was just with her." Luke chuckled quietly. "Are you being good for Aunt Jess?"

"Mhm. We goin' to the zoo tomorrow." Jack giggled softly. "When you comin' home?"

"We'll be home pretty soon, buddy." Luke smiled. "I have to go now, so I can check on Riki."

"Okay, Lukey. I love you." Jack giggled. 

"Bye. Love you."


	24. 23

After almost 3 hours, a doctor finally came out to the team. "You're all here for Miss Hotchner?" The doctor asked, looking at everyone. 

"Yes, we are." Aaron nodded. 

"Is she okay?" Luke looked up at the doctor. 

"She is now. One of the broken ribs punctured her lung. We had to perform surgery, but she's responding well and she's stable." The doctor explained.

"When can she be released?" Calum asked.

"Not for a few days yet. We want to be sure she's stable without the machines before we release her." The doctor nodded. "She's asking for an Aaron and a Luke." 

"That's us." Aaron nodded and stood up with Luke. They followed the doctor back to Erika's room and they both walked in. 

"How you feeling, sweetheart?" Luke asked softly as he sat down beside her bed. 

"Fine." Erika sighed. "It hurts to breathe." 

"It will for a few days." Aaron sighed, sitting next to Luke. 

"Erika, can you remember his name?" Luke asked. "You were close to telling me before your lung got punctured."

"I don't remember, Luke.." Erika sighed, closing her eyes. "I can't do this right now." 

"Baby, we need to catch this guy. You're the only one that's survived this." Luke sighed, holding her hand. 

"Well, wait until I can physically handle it. Because, last time you tried, I had to go into surgery." Erika pulled her hand away from Luke. 

"Baby, please." Luke sighed. "We need to catch this guy." 

"You'll have to wait a few days, because I'm not doing this." Erika crossed her arms, wincing slightly. 

"Erika, we need to do this. We can't wait. He's going to find someone else, or he'll come back for you." Aaron sighed. 

"I don't care. Maybe, he'll get me again, and kill me. Like he should have." 

"Erika Lynn Hotchner, don't you dare say that." Aaron looked her, his expression hard but his eyes soft. 

"I wish he had killed me." Erika sniffled and covered her face.

"Erika, you can't say that." Luke squeezed her hand. "If you would have died, this team would fall apart." 

"You're the ones that sent me out there. It'd be the teams fault I died." 

"That's exactly why it would fall apart. Everyone would be riddled with grief and guilt. None of us would be able to function if we lost you." Luke sighed and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. 

"I just want to be alone right now.." Erika sighed, looking down at her lap. Luke sighed and stood up. 

"We'll be outside if you need us." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and followed Aaron out of the room. 

***

After nearly another week, Erika was finally cleared to return to the line of duty. She walked into the police station with Wendy and Rachel. "Hey, Erika, how are you feeling?" Luke asked, walking over to her.

"I feel fine, Luke." Erika crossed her arms. 

"Are you up for another cognitive? We were pretty close last time." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe we can get enough for a sketch."

"Yeah, whatever." Erika sighed. "Where are we going?"

"Just in here." Luke nodded and walked into an empty room. He turned the light on and let Erika enter the room. She took a seat on the chair and laid her head down on the table. "I'm having Ryan sit in with us, so we can get a sketch."

"Oh, okay." Erika sighed, resting her head on her arms. 

"Alright, so close your eyes and relax." Luke rubbed her back gently. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. "Okay, so when he touched you, what did you see?"

"There were tools all around the room. He only used some of them on me, but I think most of them were just to scare me." Erika sighed. 

"Did you ever see his face?" Luke asked, rubbing his hand down her back. 

"Yeah, he was tallish. Not quite as tall as you, but pretty close. Maybe 6 feet tall." Erika described. "He had short brown hair, but it was always slicked back. He had brown eyes, and a scar right below his left eye." Ryan was quickly running up a sketch as Erika described the UnSub.

"What did he tell you to call him?" Luke asked. 

"He told me to call him Hunter." 

"Baby, you did so good." Luke wrapped his arms around her small frame. "I'm so proud of you." 

"Yeah, let me see the sketch." Erika wiggled out of Luke's grasp and walked over to Ryan. She looked at the sketch. "That's him. That's exactly him." Luke grabbed the sketch and walked out to the team. 

"Here it is. He's the UnSub." Luke set the sketch down for everyone to see. "Erika says his name is Hunter." 

"I'll call Michael and Garcia." Calum nodded and dialed the office number.

"Speak and be heard." Garcia answered. 

"Hey, we have a sketch and a first name. Derek is sending the sketch now, and his name is Hunter." Calum explained. 

"Find any connection you can between Judy and a Hunter." Aaron added. 

"He's probably the father of her daughter." Calum nodded. 

"Okay, I am searching.." Garcia chewed on the inside of her cheek as she searched the records. "There are 17 Hunter's in the LA area, none of them have a record of children. Judith's daughter didn't have a father listed on her birth certificate." 

"Erika, you should go talk to Judith." Ashton suggested, looking at Erika as she stood on the sidelines.

"Why me?" She asked.

"Because, if she sees you here, she might tell us who he is." Ashton shrugged. 

"Fine." Erika shook her head and walked down the hallway toward the interrogation room. She walked in and took a seat across from Judith. "Do you know who I am?" Erika asked, leaning back against the chair. 

"Should I?" Judith rolled her eyes.

"Yes. I'm the one who helped you put your mother in the van. The one who you distracted. The one who was raped and tortured for days." Erika slammed her hand down on the table, causing Judith to flinch.

"Look, I don't care." Judith shook her head and leaned back in her chair. 

"You should care." Erika opened the file. "How did you find out your daughter died?" 

"I-I.." Judith started. "He told me. He kept tabs on her after we gave her up." 

"Judith, if you give us the information we need, we can get your sentence reduced." Erika crossed her arms.

"I don't want a reduced sentence, I want my daughter back." Judith glared at Erika. "I had every right to keep my daughter, but they wouldn't let me." 

"Who wouldn't let you?"

"The government. They took my daughter, and it's their fault she's dead!"

"Judith, we can't give you your daughter back, but if you help us, you'll be saving other people's daughters." Erika sighed. "You'll be saving me." 

"He lives on Cedarbrook Lane." Erika stood up and walked out of the room.

"He lives on Cedarbrook Lane." She repeated to the team.

"Garcia, did you get that?" Aaron asked. 

"Yes. His name is Hunter Mudek. Home and work sent." 

"Thank you, Baby Girl. You always come through." Derek spoke into the phone. 

"I got you, Chocolate Thunder. Bye. Love you."


	25. 24

Erika grabbed her gun and tucked it into her belt. "What the hell are you doing?" Luke asked, looking at her. 

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Erika snapped, putting on her vest. 

"You're not coming with us, Erika." Aaron interjected, siding with Luke.

"You can't stop me." Erika walked past them and out to the parking lot. 

"Erika! You're not going!" Aaron yelled, following her.

"Aaron, just let her go. She may be able to help us in ways we aren't sure of yet." Rossi explained. 

"I'm coming whether you like it or not." Erika rolled her eyes and got in the SUV. Luke sighed and climbed in next to her. 

"Erika, this is too dangerous for you." Luke turned and looked at her.

"Luke, shut the fuck up." Erika glared at him.

"Listen to me, Erika. For once in your fucking life." Luke cupped her cheeks. "I love you, and I do not want to lose you this way. I do not want to lose you at all." 

"You're not going to lose me." Erika pushed his hands off of her. She turned away from him and looked out the window as Aaron drove to the work address. Erika froze when the building came into view. She started breathing heavily, gripping onto the edge of the seat. 

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, looking at Erika. 

"I-i've been here before.." Erika choked out, staring at the building. 

"So have we." Aaron got out of the SUV. "This is the warehouse we were at when you called us before we found you." 

"Th-this is where he took me." Erika kept her eyes on the building. 

"Maybe you should stay in the car." Luke sighed, holding her hand. 

"No. I'm going in." Erika shook her head and got out. She pulled her gun out of the holder and jogged up the concrete steps to the door. 

"Erika, wait!" Aaron called after her. He ran to the door and stood next to Erika. He kicked down the door and everyone filed in. "Erika, I want you to stay with me or Luke, understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." Erika rolled her eyes and walked with Luke. Erika breathed slowly as she looked into various rooms. While Luke was looking in a supply closet, Erika wandered up the stairs to the next floor. She walked down the hall and pushed open a hidden door in the wall. She walked into the small chamber that was filled with various tools.

"I knew you'd come back." Hunter breathed down her neck, grabbing the gun from her hands. "I knew you couldn't stay away from me."

"They know you're here. They'll find you before you can touch me again." Erika squeezed her eyes shut, fear coursing through her limbs. Hunter laughed darkly and gripped Erika's hair, slamming her head down on the table. Erika groaned as she fell to the floor, her head pounding.

"They'll never find you in time, princess." Hunter smirked and grabbed the duct tape, binding her hands behind her back. He placed a strip of tape over her mouth before dragging her out of the room. Erika whimpered and struggled to keep her eyes open. Hunter dragged her down to the loading dock. 

"Hotch!" Luke yelled, running down the hall. "Hotch!"

"Luke, what's going on?" Aaron asked, walking out to Luke.

"Erika.. she wandered off. I can't find her anywhere." 

"Goddamn." Aaron groaned, "let's split up and cover more ground." Luke nodded and ran back down the hallway. 

"Erika?!" Luke yelled. "Erika, where are you?!" Erika opened her eyes as she heard Luke's yelling. She kicked her legs at Hunter, trying to get free. "Baby, where are you?"

"Sounds like the boyfriend's here. I'd love to meet him." Hunter smirked. "I'd love even more for him to watch me kill you." Erika whimpered as Hunter hooked the pulley around her taped hands. He pulled on the chain, lifting her until she could stand up. He walked over to her and pulled the tape from her mouth.

"Luke!" Erika screamed, hoping he'd hear her. Hunter's palm connected with her cheek in a harsh slap. 

"Shut your fucking mouth." Hunter growled. Erika whimpered and and squeezed her eyes shut as Hunter began pulling the chain once more. Erika was lifted off the floor, being pulled up until she was near the ceiling. 

"Luke!" Erika screamed again. 

"Erika!" Luke yelled, running down the steps to the loading dock. Luke aimed his gun at Hunter. "Let her down." 

"If you shoot me, she falls 65 feet." Hunter smirked, pulling Erika up until she hit the ceiling.

"Let her down slowly." Luke kept his gun aimed at Hunter. 

"I won't. I want to see your face when her bones shatter against the floor." Hunter smirked and let go of the chain. Erika screamed as she began falling from the pulley. 

"Erika!" Luke yelled, running over to the chain. Luke sent two shots to Hunter's chest as he grabbed the chain, stopping Erika from hitting the floor. Luke slowly lowered her until she was standing before lifting her arms from the hook. Erika cried softly as Luke unwrapped the tape from her wrists. "You're okay, baby. I've got you." Luke wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close to him. Erika wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.

"Luke?" Aaron called out.

"Down here. I've got Erika, she's safe." Luke rubbed Erika's back as she cried into his shirt. Aaron and the rest of the team walked down the steps to where Erika and Luke stood. Spencer jogged over to Hunter's body and felt his neck for a pulse.

"He's dead." Spencer nodded. Erika sobbed into Luke's neck, gripping onto him tightly. 

"Shh, it's okay. You're okay." Luke held her tightly. "He can't hurt you anymore, baby. He's dead." Aaron walked over to Erika and Luke.

"Come on, let's get home." Aaron nodded. The flight home felt longer than usual. Erika curled up against Luke's chest as they shared earbuds. They both looked down at Erika's phone as a FaceTime call from Jessica came in. Erika answered the call and smiled when she saw Jack's smiling face.

"Hi, buddy." Erika smiled softly at him.

"Riki!" Jack grinned happily. "And, Lukey!"

"Hi, Jack." Luke laughed softly. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"M'waitin' for daddy and Riki to get home." Jack grinned. 

"We'll be home soon, buddy." Erika smiled. "But, you should get some sleep."

"No. I need to see you."

"How about you go sleep in my bed, and then when I get home, we can snuggle for a while?" Erika suggested, smiling at Jack. 

"Yeah!" Erika laughed softly.

"Okay, Jack. I'll see you when I get home."

"Bye, Riki! Bye, Lukey!"

"Bye, love you." 


	26. 25

Erika was having a hard time adjusting to life back home. It had been a week since they arrived back home, but she couldn't seem to shake off the nerves that Hunter had instilled in her. The nightmares had been getting progressively worse and Luke had been spending every night at the Hotchner house to make sure that Erika was okay. "Please, no.." Erika mumbled, grasping the sheets. "N-no, don't.." She thrashed in the bed, her limbs flailing. 

"Erika." Luke sighed and grabbed her arms. Erika whimpered and pulled her arms from Luke's grasp. "Erika, wake up." Luke shook her shoulder gently.

"Please, don't." Erika breathed heavily, kicking her legs. Luke groaned and pinched Erika's nose, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes shot open as she gasped, smacking Luke's hand away from her face. "Jesus Christ, Luke. What the hell?"

"You were having another nightmare." Luke handed her a small mug of tea.

"Trying to suffocate me doesn't help." Erika sighed and sipped the tea.

"You wouldn't wake up, I had to use the last resort." Luke sighed and laid back, resting his hand behind his head. 

"I wish the nightmares would stop." Erika sighed and set her tea down. She laid down with her head on Luke's chest.

"Erika, you were raped and totured for days. These nightmares are totally normal." Luke sighed and rubbed her back. "It might help if you talk to someone about it."

"I'm not going to a therapist. I'm not some mental patient."

"Talk to me, then." Luke looked down at her. "I won't say anything, I'll just listen."

"Luke, I can't put you through that." She sighed and snuggled closer to his side. 

"I'm offering, baby. I want to be here for you."

"Are you sure you can handle hearing me talk about this?"

"Erika, honey, It's gonna kill me. But, if it helps you, I'll do anything." 

"Okay.." Erika sighed and sat up, grabbing her tea again. "I told you a lot during the cognitives, but seeing him again just brought more memories." She sipped her tea and leaned back against the headboard. "Every time he put his hands on me, it felt like he was branding me. I could feel his touch burning into my skin. Then, he'd force himself into me and I could feel every inch of him. After the first time, I just kinda knew what to expect. I haven't stopped feeling him since the first time he did it.."

"Erika.." Luke whispered, holding her hand. 

"He's always going to be a part of me now."

"No, Erika, he's not." Luke shook his head and sat up. "He's dead, and you're here. You won. You can overcome this."

"Every time he called me 'princess,' I thought of you.." Erika sniffed, tears pricking her eyes. 

"Yeah, I called you princess at the hospital after we found you, and you had a panic attack." Luke sighed. "I'm trying to find something different to call you now." 

"Baby works fine." Erika smiled softly and squeezed his hand. "I don't need anything special."

"You deserve something special." Luke sighed. "I'll think of something." Erika was about to counter his argument when Aaron walked into the room.

"We've got a case." Aaron sighed.

"What? It's 3 in the morning." Erika sighed and got up.

"Oh, well, you can go back to sleep. You're not going." Aaron crossed his arms.

"Of course, I'm going. What the fuck are you on about?"

"Erika, I don't think the FBI is the place for you." Aaron argued. 

"We are not having this conversation right now, dad." Erika scoffed. "This is my job, this is what I do."

"It's not safe for you. Your psych eval isn't processed yet." 

"Sir, if I may, Erika has shown immense progress since she was found." Luke defended her. 

"I don't care what you have to say, Luke. You aren't as experienced as I am with the psychology of a victim." Aaron glared at him.

"Jesus, dad, I'm not a victim! I was only put in that position because you decided to use your own daughter as bait!"

"I did it for the sake of catching the UnSub!"

"Yeah, well, look what happened!" Erika yelled back, her heart racing. "Because of your actions, I'm being forced to be put through a psych evaluation to see how goddamn fucked up I got from being tortured!"

"Erika Hotchner, you do not get to put this on me." Aaron glared at her. 

"You can tell me as much as you want that I don't belong in the bureau, but it's never going to stop me from doing my job." Erika grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. 

"Sir, Erika needs this job. It's the only thing that's going to help her overcome what she was put through." Luke explained, hoping Aaron would listen. 

"I'll be the judge of that." Aaron walked out of the room, Luke trailing behind him. The two of them walked down to the foyer where Erika stood, Jack in her arms. "What are you doing?" Aaron asked. 

"We can't leave him here alone." Erika held him close to her. 

"We can drop him off at Jessica's on our way to the office." Aaron nodded and walked out to the car. Erika put Jack in the car and got in beside him. Aaron drove to Jessica's house, the ride silent. Erika lifted Jack from the car and walked him to the door, ringing the doorbell.

"Don't criminals know what time is?" Jessica yawned as she opened the door. 

"I wish they did." Erika sighed and set Jack down. "I'll see you soon, buddy." Erika smiled softly, squatting down to his level.

"Please come home." Jack sighed and hugged her tight.

"I will, honey, I promise." Erika kissed his head gently.

"Bye, Riki." 

"Bye, love you."


	27. 26

Luke walked down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Do you know what time it is, Luke?" Erika looked at him and crossed her arms. 

"I'm tired, bug." Luke shrugged and scratched his bare stomach. 

"You slept for 18 hours." Erika shook her head. "Bug?"

"It's just something special." Luke pecked her cheek. "What's all this?" Luke asked, looking at the sandwiches and snacks on the counter. 

"We're just having a picnic today." Erika shrugged, placing the food in a small basket. "Go get dressed so we can leave." 

"Yeah, okay." Luke pecked her cheek once more and walked back to his room, getting dressed. He walked back down to the kitchen. "I didn't even know I had enough food here for sandwiches."

"I went out and bought groceries this morning." Erika looked up at him.

"Jesus, how long have you been up?"

"Since 10." Erika shrugged, closing the basket. "Let's get going." Luke nodded and followed her out to the car. 

"Where are we going?" Luke asked, getting into the car. 

"You'll see." Erika pulled out of the driveway and began driving down the street. She pulled into the parking lot and turned the car off. 

"Erika.." Luke's heart raced as he looked out at the cemetery. 

"I haven't been here since we buried her." Erika chewed on her lip. She got out of the car and grabbed the basket. Luke got out and followed her to where Haley's gravestone lay in wait. Erika sat down on the grass and opened the basket. Luke took a seat next to her and looked at the grave.

"I wish things had turned out different." Luke sighed, looking at Erika.

"I know, me too." She smiled sadly and handed him a sandwich. He took it and carefully unwrapped it. "I have something for you." 

"What is it?" Luke asked, taking a large bite of his sandwich. Erika reached into the basket and pulled out an envelope. She handed it to him and played with her fingers. Luke took the envelope and looked down at his name written on the front. 

"My mom wrote a letter for you when she was first put into protective custody when The Reaper appeared." 

"She knew she wasn't making it out alive." 

"Yeah, she did." Erika sniffed and unwrapped her own sandwich. Luke ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter, unfolding it.

_Dear Luke,_

_If you're reading this letter, it means I'm dead. I know it's not Aaron nor Erika's fault that it has come to this. My wish is that you help them realize that there's nothing they could have done to prevent this. I also wish that you treat my daughter with the same love and respect that I saw you start with. Erika has been with plenty of men, but none of them have treated her with as much respect as you do. I have seen my daughter go through too much heartbreak and I know you wouldn't put her through that. Please remember to remind her of how much she is worth. I've seen the way you look at her and I know that you love her dearly. Luke, please protect my children and please make sure they know that they are always loved. In this envelope, I have enclosed something that I know you will make great use of. You have my blessing and my love. You have become a very important part of my family, and I wish to keep you there. Tell my children that I love them forever and that I will always be a part of them. Tell Aaron not to be so hard and to remember that he is more than his job. He is a father, first and foremost. Please remind him to show our children that he loves them and cherishes them. Most of all, remember that my family is now in your hands. Take care of them, love them, and please don't leave them._

_Love,_

_Haley Hotchner_

Luke looked at Erika as a tear fell onto the paper. "I had no idea your mom felt this way."

"She loved you like her own kids, Lu." Erika smiled softly and held his hand. "She always told me how much she loved you and how she knew you'd be the one I married." 

"Well, she's right. I am gonna marry you." Luke smiled. "I wouldn't let you marry anyone else." Luke leaned down and kissed her gently. Erika smiled and hugged him tight.

"I love you, Luke. I love you so goddamn much."

"I love you so much more." Luke cupped her cheek and kissed her once more. Erika pulled away slowly as her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Erika, where are you? We've got a case." Aaron spoke lowly.

"I'm at mom's grave with Luke." Erika explained.

"Well, get to the office. We have a case." Aaron sighed. 

"Yeah, we'll be there."

"Make it fast."

"Yeah, dad. I know. Bye. Love you."


End file.
